EXCLUSIVE by Scottish Energy News
Scots property agents Galbraith have spent some time working with a number of rural estate clients over the last few years.
Given the changes to the subsidy regimes for renewable energy projects, this has been something of a movable feast for viability and the approach taken by some clients.
However, with the incentives structures now more settled and as development and asset funding markets mature, the longer-term projects are attractive to developers, landowners and landowner developers alike.
Richard Higgins, a partner at Galbraith, explained: “Rosebery Estates is a significant landholder to the west of Edinburgh and also extends to landholdings in the Borders and Midlothian.
“The estate has undertaken a range of diversification utilising its land-based assets and agricultural operations.
“These include some smaller scale solar panels on grain stores to assist with the power requirements of a new grain drier. The estate also has an interest in anaerobic digestion, presently supplying feed stock to a large AD plant in Fife and is considering options for AD gas generation closer to the centre of the estate at Dalmeny, near Edinburgh.
“On the solar power side, we have worked with the estate and recently concluded negotiations of principal commercial terms with a renewable energy company for the potential development of large-scale solar farm of about 50mW.
“This is a very exciting project both for the firm and for our client, being one of the larger potential developments in Scotland and undertaken without the benefit of any subsidy support from the UK Government.
“The project is at very early stages and we anticipate a grid connection request to be submitted imminently, with the initial scoping and planning activities to follow.”
- The UK’s hottest ever early May bank holiday this week helped solar panels to contribute to their biggest-ever share of the energy mix.
Solar farms powered as much as 28.5% of the kingdom’s electricity – more than gas-fired power plants during the same time period. The previous record for solar’s contribution was 26.1%, set last July.
10 May 2018
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