Where to start...

[benseb]

I’ve loved into a lovely old house in approx 1 acre of land and have quite a bit of potential for renewables

We’re hopefully repacking our oil boiler with a GSHP soon so a great time to offset some electricity

I’m thinking a ground mount solar array, can probably fit 4-5Kw in. But there’s also potential for a wind turbine

So where is best to start?

We’re in the ribble Valley in Lancs. Probably more wind than sun 😂 but we do have a nice south facing boundary facing onto a field which could be good for solar.

It’s an AONB so not sure if this restricts things?

[kristen]

GSHP soon so a great time to offset some electricity

Not much PV electricity in Winter when you would need the GSHP ... although if GSHP is reversible, for Summer Cooling, you'd have more than enough Sunshine in Summer for that

I've contemplated Wind but folk here say it is difficult to do effectively.  Others will have more valuable insight but broad-brush the issues to ponder are noise-nuisance for neighbours, and affording an installation big enough to overcome the "DIY end of the spectrum". If it happens that you have good average wind speed that would help a lot. I have clear view across farmland to prevailing wind, but the odd tree here and there is enough to cause turbulence.

If you think wind might be a runner than I would suggest that you prioritise getting a small tower up and some monitoring/logging kit, because I think you need 12 months data on which to base a purchase decision.

Insulation and air-tightness would be the first things I would investigate - to reduce the need for heating fuel in the first place.

[HalcyonRichard]

Lot's of things you can do. but a trip to the planning department would be my first priority as you are in the AONB. No point in looking at options that you later find are no goers from a planning point of view. Also a lot of planning departments have websites with planning applications on. Looking at the ones that got passed and why give a good indication of how they apply the rules (or not).

Richard

[todthedog]

Sounds like you may have a property not dissimilar to our old Breton home but more than a tad further north!
First priority would be to insulate and draughtproof to the max and then some.
Ground based PV is great and now pretty cheap. Scaffolding is a great big boys mecano, non concrete ground fixings have come on leaps and bounds.
We loved our wind turbine, Ours was 2.5kW just about the max for handling two handed for maintenance. Spend a little extra on getting a tower that you can raise and lower easily. We had the least expensive option of a guyed option, helped by Biff's advice on the correct geometary(vital) but an easy to raise and lower tower would have been great. Hindsight is wonderful.

PV is install and forget, a turbine will need maintenance.

What fun you will have, good luck with the planning.  Don't  forget we love pictures and regular updates.

[biff]

You can never tell for sure how the planning permission will go,
                                               Until you put in your requests officially on paper. PV is brilliant 8 months of the year. You would have near enough the same amount of ground as we have. Our site is long and stretches back into the bog and peace and quiet with only a 45ft front to the road. So If it were me, I would ask to have a talk with the planning officer ablout how to fill in your planning permission. You could specify 4kw of PV and 2kw of wind turbine @ 13mtrs high. For a start. If you could locate your ground mount away from the road and out of the line of vision it might be easier but then maybe you could build a shed and face the roof in such a way that it catches the most sun all year round. (not easy).
    Turbines are addictive, It takes a while to master them and know what to expect off them but you get to love them and depend on them in winter. A good turbine works away non stop in the dark, wind and rain (rain keeps them cool) You can have immersions as dump loads a form of braking control as well as the furling mechanism on the turbine tail.
No matter how much heat you generate it will all rush outside if you have no insulation. So Insulate,,Insulate and Insulate again. It is about better health and living comfort and saving fossil fuel.
     Then it comes down to the time when the wind don,t blow and the sun don,t shine and that can happen. We can have freezing fog here for weeks on end. So we have no choice but to fire up the geni.
  A reliable geni is a must. A key start for the ladies, just in case you fall ill or run away from home. The type of geni is a personal choice. I recently built a DC charger that is capable of pumping 100amps x 14 volts into a battery bank in a short space of time. one can argue that it is not efficient but when your back is to the wall and the missus wants to see Holby City at 9pm,,It makes good sense to have something up your sleeve. Then of course it can run on Propane and that is as green as it can get..it is not the cheapest but it is the greenest.
                                                                  Biff
   The net is full of Joseph Newmans  Rest in peace .if you keep it all simple and write down your ideas as they come along, that way you stand a good chance of success. Draw a plan of your installation with proper codes to the wiring and bits and bobs. What might seem as a simple alterations  4 years ago can become a complicated box of tricks if you have not documented it properly. I speak from experience..
  Take care, enjoy.