Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Why solar farm plans have stirred up our quiet little town
With plans afoot for another huge solar farm in Wiltshire, Ro Collingborn wonders how much land will be left to produce food for the nation
LAST Wednesday evening, Malmesbury town hall was packed with protesters, standing room only. This is normally a quiet little town, and the degree of opposition to the proposed, huge solar park which would surround the pretty Cotswold villages around here was unprecedented. The meeting was led by our local MP, James Gray.
I am not against solar panels per se and we do need to take as much action as possible to mitigate climate change. The impact of rising temperatures is all around us. The flooding here on our farm is making farming almost impossible, and the degree of flooding has been unprecedented. The question here is of scale and suitability.
Mr Gray pointed out that Wiltshire already has a lion’s share of solar and battery farms. Looking at the UK, Wiltshire already has eight out of the 10 largest solar farms, a total of 54 so far covering more than 3,000 acres. Our county target is 870 megawatts, which has already exceeded the county target of 590 megawatts.
Surely future schemes should concentrate on brownfield sites, degraded land alongside the motorway and as many industrial roofs as possible? If all industrial buildings with suitable roofs had solar panels, it would solve the problem nationwide in one stroke.
Grants have now come in for solar panels on farm buildings at the rate of 25%. It needs to be at least 50% to get the necessary uptake, otherwise I can see that the cost of solar panels will suddenly go up 25%!
In Africa, where there is loads of sunshine, windmills are favoured. Wiltshire prides itself on having virtually no windmills, missing out on a huge opportunity. Even the largest windmills take up little space compared to covering acres with solar panels. Windmills therefore work much better with food production. They also bring good profits for the farmers involved. I am told that a large windmill in Cornwall, costing a million pounds, paid for itself over four years.
The proposed solar park, surprisingly called “Lime Down” , could generate power for more than 100,000 homes. The developers claim that there will be a net biodiversity benefit, but this seems to be very debatable. What is certain is that more than 2,000 acres will no longer be available for food production.
The power generated is going to be taken across farmland 29 miles away at Melksham. There will be no appeal, as it will be compulsory purchase. The roads around the projected site are very narrow, and the main road from Malmesbury towards Melksham is already very congested. There will be massive disruption and it is extremely puzzling that this development isn’t being proposed on land that is near to the sub-station at Melksham, rather than such an unsustainable distance away.
The 2,000 acres that are being offered for the scheme cover ancient and very productive British countryside, virtually running alongside the ancient Fosseway track. The land is currently being used for food production, which makes it unsuitable in itself.
The development company putting in the application is known for taking over public infrastructure and making significant profits. Australian giant Macquarie took over and managed Thames Water from 2006-2017. It has been criticised recently for taking substantial dividends during its ownership of the troubled utility and investing inadequately, claims it denies
When we left the EU and took control of our own agricultural budget, we were told that there was a wonderful opportunity to make a policy that would fit our farming here rather than one that was designed to suit the average EU farmer, where conditions might be very different. Michael Gove was the Minister in charge, and the emphasis was heavily on the environment with little thought to food production.
This approach has come back to bite us. The last round of grants was heavily weighted towards providing habitat for wild birds with a likely increase in habitat for insects and small mammals.
The rate of grant per acre is very generous, with the result that planting for bird seed is more profitable than any other crop, except for possibly, wheat. Farmers who were quick to seize the opportunity have rushed to enter their land into this scheme – sometimes up to 80% of their land.
Defra has suddenly realised the impact this is going to have on food production, and changed the option to 25% of available land, not 100%. It still means that quite a lot of arable land is no longer in food production.
Herbal leys are another profitable offering. These require land to be sprayed off and ploughed up for a successful outcome, as a good seedbed is essential, otherwise some of the little seeds will struggle to establish themselves. The downside of this is that ploughing releases the existing carbon into the atmosphere. I am told that maize grounds, up to 100 acres, that were changed over to herbal ley plantings last autumn, have not survived the winter deluges. The result – more ground currently out of food production.
Bags of seed are being returned to the agricultural merchants as sowing time has passed as it’s been impossible to get onto the flooded fields. It’s also been impossible to fertilise the land ready for this year’s silage, which will lead to a considerable loss in production.
Land that grew cereals for many years is earmarked for bird seed, land that has been in agricultural production for centuries is being covered with solar panels, other land is being turned over to forestry or rewilding and the weather is making it impossible for mainstream farmers to carry out normal agricultural activity.
Farmers have reacted to government signals, as they always will if backed up by generous grants and followed Defra’s lead into environmental protection.
It may be that climate change itself is making this a questionable approach. It’s we farmers who know how serious the current situation is. Politicians will heed the many farmers’ warnings too late, once farmers have signed up to a particularly course of action, it’s worse than turning round a juggernaut – they are committed and surely leaving fields for the birds is the easiest and most profitable action?
It might be better for politicians to move the spotlight onto the airline and waste industries, so we don’t run short of food.