A large number of planning applications for solar farms are likely to come forward in the next few years. Some of these will be via the local planning system and some will be national infrastructure projects imposed on residents.
A lot of people are concerned about using agricultural land for solar farms without any clear understanding of the longer-term food production implications. In addition, because solar farms are often sighted near connection points to the national grid there is a danger that communities might become completely surrounded by solar farms.
Is there an alternative to covering the countryside in solar farms? The main counter argument is that we need to ensure that we maximise the use of solar on rooftops and brownfield sites.
The UK roughly has 15 gigawatts of operational solar capacity. The government's energy security strategy of March 2023 talks about expanding UK solar capacity to 70 gigawatts by 2035.
Analysis by CPRE The Countryside Charity, using highly conservative estimates, shows that if only a quarter of the UK’s total 250,000 hectares of south-facing commercial roof space was usable, it could generate at least 25 gigawatts of electricity annually. In a recent report, the government's climate adviser estimated a potential of about 40 gigawatts on rooftops.
The EU is in the process of introducing an obligation to install solar energy in different types of buildings over the next few years, starting with new public and commercial buildings and in the longer term including all buildings.
Brownfield sites include land such as car parks, land besides roads and railways as well as disused land. For example, the French government has passed a law earlier this year which will require all car parks with more than 80 spaces to install solar canopies over at least half the area they cover. The move is expected to generate around 11 gigawatts of energy – enough to power nearly 8 million homes. It’s clear that you could get a massive increase in solar capacity from maximising the use of roofs and brownfield sites.
The argument however isn’t that you don’t need any solar farms rather that the number of solar farms required could be reduced and our ability to site them in locations which are more acceptable to our communities would also be massively improved. This would require government legislation mandating solar of roofs and brownfield sites which is unlikely to happen in the short term.
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