When I bought my house in 2006 it came with 10 hectares of land, which has done pretty much nothing for 19 years. It’s designated farmland and will not be reclassified as constructible in the foreseeable future.
A solar farm has got the go-ahead a few km from me, it will be up and running in a few years time. Apparently they need to offset the environmental impact (CO²) by finding ‘green lungs’. The company has offered to rent my parcel of land to plant trees and make it a wildlife haven, they will pay for planting trees, make it wildlife friendly, build a natural pond.
I tried to do it myself a few years ago but all my saplings got eaten by the very wildlife I was trying to protect, ungrateful buggers.
So I’ll get 1000€ a year per hectare (index linked) for the next 40 years, the land will be protected, it’s SAFER safe, I will have full access to the land, I can sell the property if I want with the contract, or take the contract with me should I decide,
It’s perfect timing; that’s my household expenses covered when I retire, I am not the environmental villain, I’m the ‘good guy’. The solar farm can take the flack.
I’ve had a Notaire look at it and it’s all above board and he’s happy for me to sign. Happy days
This sounds like a win-win. Your land becomes more biodiverse, & you get some money for doing nothing.
Also, the solar farm is far from being an environmental disaster. There are many examples of solar farm techniques that still retain productive land under & around them, not to mention the clean electricity produced.
That sounds like an offer of a lifetime. They don’t come along very often so we think you are a really lucky chap! Well done and hope everything goes OK with this.
The Florette salad company is in the next commune and have acres of low lying solar panels and a huge flock of sheep keeping the grass and weeds down and they have shelter too under the angled panels, same with several other greenhouse enterprises with panels, more sheep grazing freely.
Sounds great Rob,
there must be a transfo / sub station near by, I’d look into the possibility of free electrical supply to the propriety & negotiate, could be worth a punt?
I’m envious. What a wonderful situation.
I am fully into Rewilding, to increase biodiversity and habitat. Previously read Isabella Tree’s ‘Wilding’, about the Knepp Estate in England; 1400 hectares not profitable; now selling culled meat plus glamping and wildlife safaris, enormously profitable plus wildlife is higher there any just about anywhere in the UK.
Now I am reading their follow-up, The Book of Wilding which is a more détailed how-to guide. But I only have a hectare.
My suggestion, Rob, since that seemed to be your goal before this proposal came along, do some reading and ask the company to collaborate with you. They might ‘tick all the boxes’ but not create very diverse habitat.
How many tree species do they want to plant? Do they feed native species of animals including insects, or are they just there to fix carbon? Will they dig a rectangular ‘swimming pool’ pond, or will it have a variety of depths (which is especially important as water levels rise and fall seasonally).
It could be a showcase for your region, or it could be a sad ‘missed opportunity’ that nevertheless satisfies their corporate responsibilities.
Feel free to message me if you’d like to discuss. This is my big life project, up here in Picardie but, as I said, I have a lot less space to play with. But I do already have a huge wild pond that has amphibians by the hundreds, ducks, herons and egrets.
Good luck
They also do weddings - I photographed one there some years ago.
Actually it was a humanist ceremony so not technically a legal wedding, but you get the idea.
They had a big tent for the reception and the “DJ” was dressed in a Bertie Wooster 1930s evening suit and entertained everyone with 78 rpm records played on two wind-up gramophones!
