Responding to news that Liz Truss’s ministers are planning to ban solar farms from most of England’s farmland [1], Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:
“It is clear that the Tories and their fossil fuel friends have turned into the anti-renewables coalition. The fact that this attack on solar farms has not been matched by a mandate to developers that all new housing developments must be fitted with roof top panels shows this is an ideologically driven policy that makes no economic or environmental sense.
“Solar panels can be deployed extremely quickly and offer some of the cheapest electricity, helping to tackle both the cost of living crisis and the climate emergency.
“Research has also shown that solar energy generation and food production can co-exist well together. Arranged in certain formations, solar panels have actually been found to boost agricultural production by helping with shading and water conservation during heatwaves, for example [2]. Rather than banning solar farms, the government should be advancing deployment of solar projects in a way that benefits local communities, farmers and biodiversity.”
Notes
2. Agrivoltaic solar farms offer "shocking" benefits beyond producing energy (dezeen.com)