UK Prime Minister Opposes Placing Solar Panels on Farmland, Downing Street Says

An aerial photograph shows the Sycamore Farm Solar Farm, in Old Romeny, southeast England, on April 18, 2022. Ben Stansall /AFP via Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss does not think solar panels should be installed on productive agricultural lands, Downing Street has said.

According to a report in The Guardian, Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena wants to protect farmland amid concerns over food security and is seeking to restrict the development of solar projects on farms in England.

Asked about the report on Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesperson did not confirm or deny the claims, but pointed to what Truss said about solar panels in September.

Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers her keynote speech at the Conservative Party annual conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, on Oct. 5, 2022. Jacob King/PA Media

“She said she doesn’t think we should be putting solar panels on productive agricultural lands, because obviously as well as the energy security issue, we face a food security issue. So we need to strike the right balance,” said the spokesperson.

Pressed on whether farmers should decide how to use their land or the government, the spokesperson said: “Of course it is right that farmers who own farms decide how best to use it, and I think she was clear about that during the campaign.”

Food Security

Truss has previously expressed doubts about the “depressing” spread of solar power “paraphernalia” on agricultural land.

Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has also argued against developing solar power at the expense of food security.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is seen in Westminster, London, on Sept. 21, 2022. Rob Pinney/Getty Images

At a fringe event at the Conservative Party annual conference held in Birmingham last week, he dismissed the idea that sheep and cattle could graze in fields with the panels, saying the grass under them would be of poor nutritional value.

“I think we need to have some concern about food security, and therefore maintaining highly productive agricultural land is quite a sensible interest,” he added.

But the solar industry has criticised the government’s reported intentions to restrict solar projects.

Solar Energy UK CEO Chris Hewett said: “The UK solar sector is alarmed by attempts to put major planning rules in the way of cheap, home-grown energy. Solar power is the answer to so many needs and policy demands: it will cut energy bills, deliver energy security, boost growth, and help rural economies.”

He called opposition to solar farms “anti-growth.”

Fossil Fuel Boost

In the face of the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK government has loosened restrictions on fossil fuel projects.

Last month, the government lifted the ban on fracking in England, arguing that the war in Ukraine had meant Britain needed to wean itself off imported gas.

The government also plans to issue more than 100 licenses for the oil and gas exploration and potential development of 898 blocks and part-blocks in the North Sea.

Rees-Mogg said the new licensing round will boost jobs, energy security, and the UK economy, adding that domestic production of gas “has a lower carbon footprint than importing from abroad.”

PA Media contributed to this report.