Rethink needed over solar farm policy

The potential plans from the UK government to ban solar farms from being placed on agricultural land are ill-advised and a prime example of backward-looking policy, which is ultimately anti-growth since it involves constriction of project development and the creation of green jobs.

They also hinge on

an incorrect claim that renewable energy and food production cannot co-exist, and ignore the broader issue of land use and planning for essential infrastructure, agriculture, climate change and biodiversity.

Solar can increase the biodiversity of agricultural land and provides a cheap, secure, reliable and clean source of energy that is desperately needed as we face soaring gas prices and ever-worsening climate crisis.

Blocking the development of renewable sources is the complete opposite action needed to combat these issues.

The decision to place solar panels on farmland should rest with landowners and planning authorities, and consider the benefits that the projects deliver against their impacts.

Solar is a proven, quick-install technology and gives farmers income in a volatile market that can underpin their businesses for the next generation. We urge the UK government to reconsider its

plans and direct its concerns to addressing climate change and the energy crisis.

Declan Deasy

Chief operating officer of Cero Generation London