Solar panels get €1,000/acre so what’s the catch?

There's land in continuous tillage for many years and sprayed with roundup every year and can still grow good crops of grain and better straw. what's not to like

is that in answer to me, I don't understand

In tillage the soil gets cover for most of the year and has crop residues, manures etc. incorporated - leaving soil bare all year round with constant spraying leads to erosion and degradation of the soil biota over time and is simply bad practice. Another issue is the emergence of Roundup resistant weeds like Horsetail like what happens on roadsides that get constantly sprayed

Farmer can put 49% of holding in panels and retain agriculture relief on the entire.

Most land is privately owned and leased into the company. If the company buys land, you can be sure that the company shareholders will not make a stupid move regarding transfer of those company lands to family. It will all end up well planned from a tax point of view.

Hi,
I am writing to seek your guidance regarding a recent proposal from a solar farm developer who has approached my family with the intention of leasing our farmland for the establishment of a solar farm. We would greatly appreciate any advice you could provide concerning the contractual/leasing and commercial aspects of this arrangement. Probably looking for a reliable land agent contact details.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Best regards,

P.S. not sure if you can contact me privately on here.

Thank you alps for your message, we have sought independent financial advise.

I am more interested in the signing up arrangement and what the developer should be offering for the Option Agreement?

Thanks again

I assume most of the companies have some level of insurance , but you'd want to be sure that contractually they have to spend any insurance money on repairing the solar farms , and or there a sinking fund to ensure that the farm is put back to agreed conditions after the lease is up . It'd be very easy for a large company to promise the world but the individual solar farm is owned by a separate limited company, with no real assets except the panels ect , if they're obsolete the company could go bust leaving a mess for the land owner,

WIth the greens gone from government I wonder will the new government tighten up this whole area and stop planning permissions for solar farms on prime farm land in the east of the country. There has to be many opposition groups cropping up all over the country to stop their houses ,villages and towns being surrounded by these things.

Also land owners maybe short sighted in thinking that solar farms are going to be as profitable in the future as they are now, most of the revenue is due to the very favourable feed in tariffs, minimum pricing etc that the renewable sector is getting rather than the inherent strength of renewable energy in its own right. If governments under pressure from their electorates for sky high electricity and energy prices were to row back on those pricing models where does that leave the profitability of solar energy companies 20 or 30 years into the future. Will the farmer be left holding the pensioner

I doubt solar policy will change with the greens gone , unless some politician in gov actively goes after solar , remember it's businesses putting up the solar farms not gov , and it's eirgrid and ESB networks giving out the grid connections,

I do feel sympathy for the guy who has found his home In the middle of the solar farm , I dunno how you'd square that circle , maybe hedge and tree planting on the edge of the solar farm , but I don't think everyone should have a right not to have to see a solar farm .

It's a dangerous route to go down to tell farmers and land owners what they can and can't do based on the aesthetic appreciation of their neighbours , I'm vegan - I don't like to see cows or sheep on the land ,

You can't plant maize there because I don't like seeing the plastic 2 months of the year , or I don't want to see a power line going across your land to bring electricity to your milking parlour and yard

, or even new cattle sheds ect being ruled in or out depending on the neighbours view ,

You have a right to enjoy your property , you don't have a right to a view, and there's probably a line to be found somewhere between those two things .

He can hear the hum of the eqipment, there's security lights that are on at night, it's not non-impactful. I don't really care for people complaining about some solar farm off in the distance being an eyesore or whatever, but when you have what is effectively a power plant and all that comes with it surrounding your home it's a little different.

The issue is the overhead cost of the power connection to the grid, substation etc. A larger plant will normally be more efficient.

There is published information available on capacity at all substations at 38 kV and 110 kV (there are exceptionally few connections to 220 kV).

If a company director puts money into a pension it's zero tax as far as I'm aware?

Is It not better to put as much as possible of the solar earnings into a pension, reducing earnings, and pay yourself bare minimum, and get an off farm job as well to keep the day to day moving?

Sure ya would have a bit of time on your hands!