Comments on: Planning law stops solar power plant seeing light of day

By: A.J.

A.J. — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:30:55 +0000

So said Zebadee!

By: Yvonne Burford

Yvonne Burford — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:46:39 +0000

Fran,

The current fee for an application for a complete solar panel installation (assuming it is not already exempt) is £50. Given that a PV system may well cost upwards of £5000 I do not believe the fee is acting as a deterrent. However it does pay towards the cost of staff time in processing the application, which of course has to be borne by someone.

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By: Magic_Roundabout

Magic_Roundabout — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:13:17 +0000

….unused vinery sites should be turned back into green land and used for grazing rainbow horses, the breeding and training of which over here will save us all….

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By: Fran

Fran — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:24:37 +0000

Perhaps the Environment Board could waive their planning fees with regard to applications for Solar panels etc?

That would be a start and there would then be no addional cost to the taxpayer?

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By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:10:11 +0000

Sorry, I meant else instead of rake.

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By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:09:19 +0000

OccupyOatlands

You have varying methods that you wish to employ to reduce carbon dioxide, gut you share the same broad idea as I. Wonder whether anybody rake is willing to appropriate existing unused land in order to mitigate climate change ? …

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By: OccupyOatlands

OccupyOatlands — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:46:41 +0000

What about the idea of “solar trees”.. essentially make some very thin metal poles and about 25 feet or so up, have a collection of moveable (with stepper motors) lightweight flexible panels that track the Sun.

Plus they can be used on existing land, people don’t tend to complain about trees as much and they can be painted green without affecting the (IR light) sensitive panels.

For additional earth friendly points, use recycled motors and plastic from the dead printer mountain at Longue Hougue and have the local jobless build them for a reasonable amount per hour as it is skilled labour!

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By: OccupyArea51

OccupyArea51 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:42:05 +0000

I agree with Kevin, it is wrong that outdated laws should hold back groundbreaking research.

“Disused vinery site” = Strawberry farm? Would make sense, the infrastructure is there and old metal greenhouses once shored up and suitably rewired would be an ideal base.

Also it would be interesting to see if the public would support a referendum on the planning laws being revamped to favour renewable energy..

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By: A.J.

A.J. — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:58:39 +0000

What was the reason given as a refusal for planning permission for many,many years? “Incongruous”. Now where has that gone? The I.D.C. was a system which worked very well in my opinion with 12 men (and women) good and true, who visited every site and met to discuss the merits or otherwise of each planning application,nor did we have to wait two months for a decision.
Now,it’s down to a small team of civil servants who control all the say,having been given this power by our trusted States.
I would say,over time, this has proved to be a backward move.

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By: Guern abroad

Guern abroad — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:33:46 +0000

Exactly.
Now get solar panels installed on every large States roof, there are so many of these.
Post Office, schools, etc. etc. There are so many large power generating States roofs available around the Island that I think Kev is barking up the wrong tree. Even if the energy was used directly for each facility where the panels were installed that is a start.
Work with what you have and get on with it.
I think ideas like Kev’s above are ill thought through and a bit of an ego massage. The data is already avilable on the Island to compute from now go do some real work and calculate how much power would be available for what outlay on the existing sqm2 States owned roof areas.

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By: Scarlett

Scarlett — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:40:41 +0000

When they expand PE to the size of the Telegraph there’ll be just about enough room to squeeze in Ed’s first paragraph, vic.

Thank god he’s not mine. Having him lecturing me for hours from the other side of the family dinner table as to the pros and cons of whether he wants carrots is a fate too horrible to contemplate.

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By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:17:56 +0000

Yvonne

There’s a vast expanse of land neighbouring Oatlands- we’ll just have to have the annual equestrian event relocated elsewhere and inform Kaufman Kent that he can’t expand his abomination of a fayre onto it as its going to be appropriated for something of long-term avail.
I think a field of crops would possess greater aesthetic appeal than just open land constituting little tall vegetation. The greenhouse site adjacent to the fields too could be used- we just need to rid it of glass, or, even better construct fresh greenhouses there and on the site where the greenhouses have just been demolished.
Perhaps an even better move would be to completely eliminate that so-called ‘fayre’, replace it with an irrigation facility (I understand that Oatlands already has a tap or several taps) and carry out a carbon sequestration programme,namely afforestation, in the neighbouring fields, though the irrigation method may lack efficiency.
Then again, is it better to offset existing emissions or remove them at source ?

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By: Doh!

Doh! — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:37:36 +0000

The new GHA houses have solar panels and people I know that have them say that they have cut their electric bills to virtually nothing. We should have been given incentives years ago to encourage more take up of solar panels. Blimey they have been round for donkeys years we should know how much you get out of them. I said before, instead of paying for a new generator the money should have been used to make everyone more self sufficent, and that would reduce the load needed, simples!

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By: vic gamble

vic gamble — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 08:20:52 +0000

Ed, have you ever considered entering one of your threads for publication in Private Eye’s “Pseud’s Corner” ???

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By: Yvonne Burford

Yvonne Burford — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 23:40:12 +0000

Yes, six acres of land in Southern Europe would be considerably cheaper and generate considerably more electricity.

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