Chartered Surveyor Bruton Knowles, has been appointed by Green Solar Energy UK – a subsidiary of German renewable firm Gruene Energien Solar GmbH – to identify suitable locations across the UK to expand into the British market.
The company specialises in designing ground mounted or floating solar farms on big plots of land, to deliver affordable electricity output that meets the needs of local communities.
Green Solar Energy UK wants to find sizeable areas of around 280 hectares, equivalent to almost seven hundred football pitches, for which negotiations around usage can then begin.
Joan Halligan, Associate at Bruton Knowles, who has been leading on the site-finding efforts, said: “Seeking permissions for greenbelt development requires the demonstration of special circumstances. That’s why our initial priority has been to assess the availability of brownfield sites which might lend themselves to a redevelopment of this nature.
“By removing some of the planning obstacles at an early stage, we can enable our client to power their way to a successful outcome within a shorter timeframe and ahead of its competitors.
“Furthermore, by bringing brownfield land back into beneficial use – something that’s fundamental to the UK Sustainable Development Strategy – our client will be able to stimulate a wider regeneration process.
“This is very much in keeping with the ethos of Gruene Energien Solar GmbH, whose overall business objective is to offer communities sustainable power generation alternatives to fossil and nuclear fuels.”
Bruton Knowles has already been in touch with a number of landowners up and down the country to scope out potential interest and the potential for deals being struck for solar electricity production on sites over a thirty-to-forty-year lease period.
As part of this process, Gruene Energien Solar GmbH would make significant investments in installing the very latest cutting-edge technologies on these plots. This would maximise the overall power capacity at each location and deliver an efficient and innovative energy solution.
Halligan added: “There is clearly an appetite amongst landowners with potentially suitable sites to diversify. Some, particularly those who already operate in the waste management, mining, and quarrying sectors, have been very receptive to Green Solar Energy UK’s proposals.
“Many aspire to make their business portfolios more environmentally friendly, so our client’s proposition is a perfect match for their own sustainability objectives. It also reflects Bruton Knowles’ commitment to the low carbon economy.
“Through our work, we want to support and enable the green transition. Making our towns, cities, and rural areas – and their supporting infrastructures – more sustainable goes beyond economics and the environment. It is also about leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.”
