Representation by Nuala Margaret May
- Date submitted
- 13 March 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I object to the installation of solar panels to cover an enormous area of our precious countryside. Solar power is an inefficient method of obtaining energy. It is not a continuous power supply, only available during daylight hours and seasonally at odds with demand. There is an absence of any serious national energy strategy. With coal and natural gas being phased out, surely harnessing tidal power would provide a long-term clean solution, and would more than meet the whole country’s needs. To lay waste to much needed good agricultural land will increase our reliance on imported foodstuffs, at a time when we should be planning to be self-sufficient. We have been in this situation before, and with the world in tumult, has history not taught us anything? Surely, it is better to position panels on brownfield sites, of which there is no shortage, or invest in domestic uptake. Since restrictions imposed on us in 2020, the availability of green spaces has been vital to our mental wellbeing. Massive panel coverage of our surroundings on an industrial scale would not only be a blight on our landscape, but be detrimental to the mental health of people living in a large number of local communities.