Preserving the Past, Powering the Future

In recent years, solar energy has increasingly emerged as a promising solution to our global energy crisis, offering a clean, renewable, and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. As we strive to reduce our carbon footprint in the UK and transition to a greener future, the integration of solar panels into our infrastructure has become increasingly prevalent. However, the  introduction of new solar farms can pose challenges for the historic environment.

Solar developments in England are guided by a range of Government policies including:

• The National Planning Policy Framework

• The Overarching National Policy Statement for
  Energy (EN-1)

• National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy
  Infrastructure (EN-3)

• National Policy Statement for Electricity
  Networks Infrastructure (EN-5)

In summary, these policies recognise that while solar farms can contribute to renewable energy goals, they can also have an impact on the historic environment and potentially affect the significance of heritage assets. Due to this, it is important to assess any potential impacts and ways to minimise these through early assessment such as a Historic Environment Desk-Based Assessment, Heritage Statement, Archaeological Evaluation and heritage chapter in the scheme's Environmental Statement (ES) at an early stage of the project.

Solar developments can have direct and indirect impacts on the historic environment.

• Direct: Buried archaeological remains can be disturbed by excavations for cable routes and foundations for substations and mounting structures.

• Indirect: Solar farms can also impact the significance of heritage assets through changes to their setting.

The direct impact of solar schemes on burried archaeology is generally very low, with the impact of piles commonly amounting to no more than 0.06% by area and overall impact, including cable runs, access tracks, inverter stations etc. typically being well below 10% and often on larger schemes below 5%. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that archaeological assessment is proportionate to the impact of the development. Not all potential impacts are negative - in some cases, solar farms can have positive effects on the historic environment including removing the site from regular ploughing activity that could be eroding buried archaeological remains. 

The harmonious coexistence of solar panels and the historic environment is achievable, but will often involve seeking expert advice from a heritage consultancy, careful planning and collaboration.