Greenpeace responds to news on planning permission for solar on farmland

Commenting on news reports that a ministerial statement will be laid before Parliament today urging councils not to approve planning permission for solar farms on high-quality farmland, Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, said:

“This is yet another nonsensical move from the government that will jeopardise the UK’s access to cheap, clean, quick-to-deploy energy. Following one of the wettest winters in decades that flooded farmland and dramatically reduced crop yields, it’s clear that the biggest threat to our food security is the climate crisis.

“The amount of land needed for solar in the UK is minimal in the grand scheme of things and, since it’s perfectly possible to use the land underneath solar panels, there’s no choice to be made between homegrown clean energy and food. But if ministers are so adamant to keep solar panels off farms, perhaps they should take a look at golf courses, which currently take up many times more land than solar farms.”