Frequently asked questions
Common questions about the project, answered.
About Statkraft
Statkraft is at the heart of the UK’s energy transition. Since 2006, Statkraft has gone from strength to strength in the UK, building experience across wind, solar, hydro, energy storage and grid stability projects.
Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations, with more than 6,200 employees in 20 countries. We’ve invested over £1.8 billion in the UK's renewable energy infrastructure and facilitated over 4.5 GW of new-build renewable energy generation through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
Across our UK businesses we employ more than 500 staff in England, Scotland and Wales.
Read more about Statkraft UK.
About solar
Solar is one of the safest energy generation technologies in the world. Solar PV technology dates back to the 1950s and its use is widespread throughout the world – not only in large-scale solar farms but in domestic situations too, in the form of rooftop solar panels.
Solar panels are primarily made from silicon – a material derived from sand – encased within a robust, sealed structure and protected by tempered glass. The materials used are stable and inert during operation, and panels do not present a risk to people or the environment when installed and operated correctly.
Once operational, solar panels generate electricity without producing emissions, noise or air pollution.
Yes, solar panels are a cheap and effective source of renewable energy in the UK (even in the winter). Solar panels require daylight rather than direct sunlight. This means that a site will generate power even on an overcast day.
Solar is one of the lowest‑cost sources of new electricity generation, with lower build costs than gas or nuclear and typically more cost‑effective to develop than onshore wind. The energy price crisis has made the case for solar even stronger, and the cost of solar continues to decrease year on year.
Stargoose Solar Farm will not directly change individual household energy bills however, the more renewable technology that gets developed in the UK, the cheaper energy bills will become for consumers. At present, the UK's marginal cost pricing system for electricity is vulnerable to high external gas prices, which is then reflected in consumer bills.
Unfortunately, we are unable to directly offer discounted energy bills to local communities as energy bills and tariffs are controlled by energy providers.
No, well managed solar farms do not damage soil health.
As solar farms are temporary and light touch developments whereby the land will not be lost but restored at the decommissioning phase, the agricultural land classification will not be negatively impacted. Statkraft use purified water with no chemicals when we clean the panels on our solar farms, meaning there is no danger of the water running off panels during cleaning damaging the soil on our sites.
On sites which were subject to intensive arable cultivation, soils may recover with improved health and importantly more carbon storage.
Brownfield sites generally have more competing land uses, and typically brownfield land is not available in the scale required for critical national priority solar projects to be delivered by 2030.
Brownfield land in urban areas is much in demand and the economics do not stack up for solar development on brownfield land as they often have much greater value for commercial and housing developments.
Roof mounted solar is becoming an increasingly familiar sight, particularly when it comes to new build developments across the UK. Recent Government policy is supportive and promotes more rooftop solar in the UK. However, rooftop solar alone cannot deliver the volume of cheap and reliable low-carbon electricity needed to meet national climate and energy security targets. Both technologies play an important role in the UK’s future energy mix.
Yes. There are well established industrial processes for this and, in most cases, up to 99% of the materials in a solar panel are recyclable.
There are organisations both in the UK and Europe that specialise in solar recycling and they are working with solar developers to minimise electrical waste and recycle old panels in line with the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.
Statkraft is committed to sustainability and responsible business practices. We source the panels for our projects from a variety of established suppliers that comply with UK laws, international standards and industry best practice.
Statkraft is a member of the Solar Stewardship Initiative which was launched in 2023 to support the development of an industry that promotes the highest possible levels of transparency, including in areas of environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and good governance.
Read more about our approach to supply chains here: Global Statement on Modern Slavery
About Stargoose Solar Farm
The original Stargoose Solar Farm proposals were subject to a pre-application public consultation between January and February 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing restrictions in place at the time, consultation activities were carried out virtually rather than through in-person events. Local residents, councils and stakeholders were able to review the proposals online, provide feedback via the project website, email or phone, and participate in virtual meetings.
We thank everyone who provided feedback during the consultation.
To stay up to date with our project, you can provide contact details via our Get In Touch page. We will email you with details of major project milestones. We will also update our Construction Updates page as the construction progresses.
In the meantime please do get in touch if you have any questions for the project team.