Is there any limitation to solar power in residential permitted development rights for any UK country? Don't think there is.

I think residential is limited to 4kW or am I dreaming?

Check the local electrical infrastructure as it may not be able to handle it

Posted By: SteamyTeaThere is something about only being allowed 9 m^2 if ground based or something.

Yes, I think that's right in England (and Wales, perhaps). However, you can put as much as you can fit on your permitted development garage, chicken shed, whatever.

[PS, in Scotland the rules are to do with covering not more than a certain percentage of the ground round the house. IIRC, all the sheds, panels, pools, etc, between them can't cover more than half the area which was left by the original house.]

The PD limit is 50kW apart from the new 1MW limit (which is not really PD as you still have to apply and be granted permission) for non-residential buildings. The key is the use of the word "microgeneration" which is defined in the Energy Act 2004 (and elsewhere) as up to 50kW.

Thanks Ted. Yes, permitted development is a funny concept; small wind turbines in Scotland can be PD but you have to get “permission” or, at least, a certificate of lawful permitted development. Basically, though, if your installation will meet the requirements (maximum height?, at least 100 m from anybody else's curtiledge) they're supposed to give you permission even if they and all your neighbours loathe the things (though there might be a few weasel words on this). Is this what's going on with the new commercial rooftop installations?

Posted By: SteamyTea

Posted By: rhamduI am beginning to find the sight of a bare, south-facing roof mildly shocking. Like something offensive to my religion

Strange, so do I.
There is a new multi services station being built on the A30. The new fire station has two large roofs, neither has PV on them.
It may in the future though. Who knows.

Me too.

The really sad thing about all these small turbines is that if the farmers in Cornwall clubbed together, they could put up one 2 MW one and all be better off.
Personally I don't have a problem with them, I just see it as a missed opportunity to generate more, for less money.

I am not sure of the current payment structure for smaller installations, but if any investment cannot beat the saving rate, it is not a good investment to get. EDF are not building a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point to loose money on (though they will be bailed out repeatedly in my opinion), and they are borrowing about £20bn.
Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for farmers, seems whatever they do, someone, somewhere, will get upset.
Cornwall is odd, it probably produces more flowers than food crops, hardly essential to life.

Well, I didn't use to have a problem with them (wind turbines) but one has been installed about 1km from our new plot and I am surprised with the constant whoosh whoosh sound that it generates. When staying in my caravan on site it has even woken me up at night. I believe the sound is generated by the blades passing the supporting post as this ties up with the frequency. Some may say I am over fussy but the quietness of the plot is the main reason we are building there.

There are two main issues with connection.
The Local: houses, small turbines, PV and hydro. Generally this is below 200 kW
Bulk Transmission: Main lines coming into the county.

It is the local that there is a problem with. This grid connection block has been on the cards for a few years now. WP have done their best, but eventually they cannot connect any more without some serious local upgrading.
It does not help that Cornwall is shaped funny, with the towns on the edges and at end of the country.

Not sure how much RE capacity there is in Cornwall at moment, may be worth investigating.
There was a bit in this week Sunday Times Business about the 8 GW of installed solar that the UK has, with 2 GW of it having been fitted recently.
If you work on 10% of installed capacity for solar and a mean demand of 325 TWh/year for the country, then solar is supplying about 7 TWh/year or 2%.

Posted By: tedThey have had over 800 planning applications - at a cost to the council of around £2200 each to process and all subsidised by local council tax payers.

That will be about £3.28 each then, I think even down here we can afford that, less than 2 coffees a year, or, assuming half the population is not earning, less than a months mobile bill. Worth keeping these things in perspective.
Did you win your case about your local turbines Ted?

Posted By: joe90Some may say I am over fussy but the quietness of the plot is the main reason we are building there.

I was down at Porthleven week before last, there was a film crew doing their stuff. The microphones where picking up the sounds of the helicopters 3 miles away.
The countryside has never need quiet. I went to school in rural Oxfordshire, Brise Norton was 4 miles away, there was a VC10 that took off at 6 AM most mornings, and during my 'O' Levels, Concorde was doing a load of low level 'sound' test. Now that was noisy.
Still be worth testing how noisy your local turbine is though.

Did you use the stats to show that the noise analysis was rubbish?

I divided it by the population of Cornwall.

(800 [applications] x 2200 [cost in £]) / 560,000 [population of Cornwall] = £3.14/person

I have seen some maps about the Cornish agricultural wilderness, there is an open day at Rosewarne college soon, bet they have some. Shall see if I can find anything out.
The land around here is not very productive, unless you like growing granite chunks, Japanese Knotweed or polythene. Even the dairy farmers are moving out, costs too much to ship the feed in.

Found this one:
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/141046

And a bit more detail from here:
Cornwall County
Grade Hectares %
Grade 1 326 0.1
Grade 2 28,317 8.0
Grade 3 216,517 61.2
Grade 4 67,599 19.1
Grade 5 23,367 6.6
Non Agricultural 11,299 3.2
Urban 6,250 1.8

So most of the land is Grade 3 and 4.

If we took the Grade 4 and 5 out of agricultural production and covered it with PV, then we could install about 40 GW of PV.
It would still leave 3/4 of farmland untouched.

No need for sheep, it is not a sheep area, they are also affected too much by world prices. Pigs may be different as they need shelter. If you want to make a small fortune in pig meat, start with a large one.

Posted By: tedWestern Power announced a block on any more grid-connected renewables in the South West a month or so ago.

Our county is commissioning a landscape capacity study to have some idea of how many more wind turbines they can say 'yes' to.

They have had over 800 planning applications - at a cost to the council of around £2200 each to process and all subsidised by local council tax payers.

Ted, where do I find info regarding no more grid connection in the south west? Presumably this includes Devon?

Posted By: woodgnomeTed, where do I find info regarding no more grid connection in the south west? Presumably this includes Devon?

Try this:
http://www.westernpower.co.uk/Connections/Generation/Generation-Capacity-Map.aspx

Posted By: SteamyTeaI divided it by the population of Cornwall.

(800 [applications] x 2200 [cost in £]) / 560,000 [population of Cornwall] = £3.14/person

We have 73,000 households so the cost is £24.11 for each.