Assessing the Social Impact of Solar

Through developing a deep understanding of the baseline characteristics of the area, TRP were able to demonstrate that the proposed solar farm would deliver significant positive impacts on employment and economic output throughout its construction, operational, and decommissioning phases which provide positive material benefits in the decision-making process.

Crucially the assessment was also able to demonstrate that despite local opposition and anecdotal evidence to the contrary, there would be no significant adverse effects on tourism or agriculture.

Key benefits identified include:

• Job Creation: Up to 2,620 person-years of employment during construction and decommissioning
• Economic Output: £65.7 million of direct & indirect investment into local economy during construction, £49.2 million in employment-related GVA and £2.2million in business rates revenue.
• Agricultural Employment: Net increase in FTE equivalent employment through introduction of conservation sheep grazing.

‍