Devon’s first shared-ownership solar farm

Ripple Energy has recently announced that its first shared solar park will be built in Derril Water, Devon. Ripple Energy, a co-operative ownership pioneer, is offering shares in Derril Water, a 42MW PV project in West Devon, claiming to be Britain’s first consumer-owned solar farm. Shares starting at £25 are available for local investors and UK citizens interested in clean power. The venture has planning permission on low grade fields at Pyworthy, after Ripple bought the Devon project from developers RES. The company sees shared ownership of solar farms as an affordable, straightforward way for households to address climate change and reduce their carbon footprint. Owners of Derril Water will see savings applied to their electricity bill based on how much power their share of the park generates. The power sale contract has a clause that requires suppliers to offer the electricity at a discount back to the farm’s owners with Ripple’s marketing materials quoting around 25% off competitors’ prices. A fund run by the owners’ co-operative will benefit community activities around Derril Water, and power sales should raise about £42,000 every year, adding to £15,000 from developers RES, already committed to refurbish a village hall. The site’s biodiversity will be improved through the planting of species-rich grasses, native trees and 30% more hedgerows plus the installation of bird and bat boxes, hedgehog houses, dormouse boxes and bee banks.

Devon CPRE Director Penny Mills says: “Devon CPRE has long campaigned for ‘Grass not Glass’ and supported the community of Pyworthy in fighting the Derril Water Solar Park, ultimately taking the legal challenge to the High Court.

‘In our view, this announcement makes no difference to the reasons the Devon branch of the countryside charity backed residents in fighting Pyworthy’s Derril Water solar farm. The offer of shared ownership doesn’t alter the loss of precious farmland that could be used to produce food at a time when there’s a greater than ever need to increase the UK’s food security, nor does it alter the loss of local democracy in a community which was overwhelmingly against this development.

‘Ripple Energy is promoting its shared ownership scheme as a ‘benefit’ to the community by ‘ring-fencing 10% of the shares in Derril Water for local households and businesses to buy’. To our mind, genuine community initiatives are shaped by local communities, not imposed on them.

‘Ripple and RES say they will work closely with the local community on this project, but this is the first our charity and, we believe, the people in Pyworthy have heard of this scheme; when the two companies involved decide to jointly announce it to the general public. So much for community involvement!

‘Barely a week goes by without one local authority or another in Devon considering a solar farm proposal. Next week a site visit is due to take place on land in East Devon where Aura Power plans to cover 145 acres of farmland at Whimple with solar panels. Devon CPRE has objected to the scheme, which is recommended for approval despite many concerns from the local community. Among numerous objections submitted to East Devon District Council, Devon CPRE states that 94.6% of the proposed site is graded 3a or 3b land, thereby including Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land, which should be protected for food production.”

‘Devon CPRE recently released a map showing the alarming spread of industrial-sized solar developments across the county. The map shows the number, scale and spread of 65 permitted and pending solar farms of 20+ acres in Devon, and the only major application to be refused last December (at Marsh Green in East Devon). The nine largest solar farms covering 100+ acres are all within the local authority areas of Torridge, North Devon, Mid Devon and East Devon.

‘The publication of Devon CPRE’s solar farm map comes as the national charity CPRE launches its own campaign for solar to be located on rooftops. Thousands of new houses are going up across Devon (and across the country) on greenfield sites, but most of these new homes aren’t being built with a single solar panel on the roof or include any other renewable energy features. We believe that new homes should be built to meet future energy needs.

‘Solar power has a part to play in providing so-called renewable energy but, in a wet climate like Devon’s, covering thousands of acres of productive pasture with glass is not the ‘green’ solution it’s claimed to be; especially when there are plenty of redundant brownfield sites and rooftops where the panels could be put; for example: supermarkets, car parks and council offices.

‘At a time of rapidly rising food prices, Devon's farmland should not be covered in solar panels to produce small quantities of expensive electricity at times of the day when it is least needed but should instead be used to produce high-quality food for local consumers.

‘We question why RES decided to involve a third party in its plans for Derril Water Solar Park? A sceptic might say it’s because they have so far failed to win over the majority of local residents to their scheme.”