Frequently Asked Questions

The solar power scheme has a number of environmental benefits, both in terms of the wider clean energy/carbon savings context, as well as locally via habitat creation and biodiversity enhancement.

Local, clean energy generation also has an important role to play in improving the UK’s energy security.

The area under investigation consists of circa 118 acres. Once all the various environmental and technical assessments have been carried out this figure will be finetuned and may be reduced as various buffer distances are applied.

A solar power scheme of 40MW would generate around 42,000MWh of electricity every year. This equates to the amount of electricity used by 14,500 typical, medium-usage UK households.

This would displace around 8,800 tonnes of CO2 every year.

The generation and environmental benefit figures are estimated using a 12% capacity factor, a Typical Domestic Consumption Value (TDCV) for a medium-use household of 2900kWh per annum (Ofgem 2020) and UK government figures for GHG conversion factors for electricity production (2021).

No, the agricultural land grade of the Gembling site will not change as a result of the scheme. It will remain grade 3.

Planning permission for solar power sites is usually given for 30 years, after which the site must be decommissioned and returned to its previous state. This is typically ensured with a planning condition attached to the planning permission.

The land used for the solar site has the potential for continued farming in the form of managed grazing, typically using sheep to graze underneath the panels. There are also examples of farmers grazing geese and chickens.

The finished project will consist of the following equipment: (a) solar panels mounted on steel frames, (b) several central inverters, (c) one substation compound, (d) security fence – likely to be deer fencing, (e) infra-red CCTV along the security fence; and (f) battery storage units.

There will be no overground cabling or any artificial night-time lighting.

As part of the biodiversity enhancements and additional landscape planting there will also be additional hedgerows, trees and possibly other habitat features.

Solar batteries are energy storage units that can be charged with excess electricity during peak periods when linked up to a solar PV system. The units are typically the same size and spec as central inverters.

Any excess electricity produced during peak daytime hours can be captured and utilised later on, making the site operate more efficiently.

The electricity generated by the solar panels will connect to the grid via the local 66kv network.

No. All grid-connection cabling will be located underground.

Sensitively designed solar farms bring a net benefit to local ecology by creating additional habitat for various species and by diversifying the existing habitat.

As part of the rigorous pre-planning site assessment process, environmental studies take place on site, including a UKHab Survey and a tree survey. Additional seasonal or species-specific surveys (e.g. bats, badgers, great crested newts etc) may also need to be undertaken in due course. These will identify any species and habitats that are of value and that would need to be protected during construction and operation. These assessments can also identify ways of improving current habitats for local species.

During construction, a number of measures will take place to ensure minimal disruption to any local wildlife and any sensitive species. This can include the use of buffer zones, e.g. TEKSS has committed to keeping all development at least 5 metres away from all hedgerows and ecologically-valuable habitat, as well as best-practice construction measures, e.g. leaving planks overnight in any pits or trenches to enable badgers and other mammals to escape.

As part of the operational phase, we would be looking to seed the entire site with a biodiverse seed mix and to create additional habitat by planting new hedgerows and trees, using local plant species.

Environmental consultants may also identify additional features that can be added to enhance the biodiversity of the site further, e.g. hibernacula for reptiles. Small mammal gates could also be added to the security fence.

A typical construction programme for a solar farm runs for approximately 4 months. The work includes:

Site preparation and set up (e.g. ensuring access tracks are in good condition); trenching for and laying the cables; installation of the substation compound; piling the solar frames and installing the panels; installing the central inverters; installing the security fence; and, installing infra-red CCTV cameras (on poles).

As part of the planning application process a separate study on construction traffic will be conducted. This will assess likely delivery and construction traffic routes, calculate the number and types of vehicle needed, and suggest operational times and possible delivery restrictions to minimise impact on residential amenity.

Consultation is a key component of development at TEKSS and once we have an initial report, we will consult with the local community on the measures proposed in order to make sure it best reflects local preferences and requirements.

Planning permission for solar farms is typically up to 40 years. After this period the site will need to be decommissioned and it will need to be returned to its previous state. This is typically ensured with a planning condition attached to the planning permission.

Construction

Some noise will be generated by moving machinery, piling of the steel frames and construction traffic during the construction phase. The nature and level of the noise, however, is in line with typical farming activity in the area.

Working hours will be agreed with East Riding of Yorkshire Council ahead of construction and strictly adhered to. Typically these tend to be 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am – 1pm Saturdays, and no work on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

A Traffic Management Plan will be prepared as part of the planning application, ensuring that deliveries and construction traffic operate only during the agreed working hours.

Solar farm

Solar panels themselves do not emit any noise, as there are no moving parts. Depending on the types of panels used, there is scope for using tilting frames that move with the sunlight to capture the maximum amount of light. As such, these move extremely slowly and any noise produced is well within normal ambient noise levels localised to the site itself.

The central inverters and the substation have internal fans to keep equipment below a certain temperature. The sound effect of these is to produce a hum within the immediate vicinity of the inverters and the substation, similar to an air-con unit.

With distance, the dB levels of this hum decrease and the low levels of noise generated by this equipment are quickly masked by existing background noise.

The location of the site and its distance from third-party residential properties and Public Rights of Way mean there will be no noise impacts from the scheme on residential and recreational amenity.

Solar panels are dark in colour, as their purpose is to absorb as much light as possible. Panels are places diagonally on steel frames, usually in east-west rows. In this arrangement, they tend to be just under 3m at their highest point.

Additional equipment, such as central inverters, are housed in steel containers, not too dissimilar to a small shipping container, with a height of circa 2.5m.

The substation compound houses all the necessary gear to be able to connect the electricity generated by the scheme to the electricity network. The equipment is typically up to 3-4m in height, with an area of 45m x 25m, set within the development boundary and surrounded by screening planting.

As part of the planning application process experienced consultants will be conducting a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment to assess the impact the proposal will have on the local landscape and visual amenity.

One of the reasons why the site was selected is due to placement away from the village, (with few nearby residential properties), its proximity to the existing wind farm and the presence of existing screening in the form of hedgerows. Additional screening planting will be added to fill out any gaps and to help screen the site further.

Depending on the topography of the site and the angle of the solar panels, there can be some glint and glare from the panels, especially when the sun is low in the sky. Studies show that reflection from vegetation and bare soil can be more significant than from similar areas of solar.

Our site design will incorporate these considerations so that any potential glare is negligible.

Planning permission for a typical solar farm is usually up to 40 years, after which the site must be decommissioned and returned to its previous state. This is usually ensured with a planning condition attached to the planning permission.

Decommissioning is a very similar process to the construction phase, only it happens in reverse as various pieces of equipment are removed.

The fields would then be reinstated for agricultural use.

As well as generating clean electricity in the locality that will join the local grid network, the scheme will create a more biodiverse local environment.

Once the scheme is operational reduced noise and traffic arising from farming equipment and vehicles.

As part of consultation with the local community, we will explore the potential for including community benefits as part of the proposal.