Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsey has described the Conservative government as the ‘anti-renewables coalition’ as ministers prepare plans to ban solar panels from most of England’s farmland.
Environment secretary Ranil Jayawardena is understood to oppose solar panels being installed on agricultural land on the grounds that it impedes food production. A report published in the Guardian claims he has instructed officials to use rules governing how land is classified for planning purposes to declare large areas unsuitable for solar farms.
Adrian Ramsey said the ban, if implemented, made it “clear that the Tories and their fossil fuel friends have turned into the anti-renewables coalition”, adding that “Research has also shown that solar energy generation and food production can co-exist well together, arranged in certain formations, solar panels have been found to boost agricultural production by helping with shading and water conservation during heatwaves, for example”.
In her keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference prime minister Liz Truss listed “Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP, the militant unions, the vested interests dressed up as think-tanks, the talking heads, the Brexit deniers, and Extinction Rebellion” as members of an “anti-growth coalition” determined to hold the UK back.
Adrian Ramsey said the ban, if implemented, made it “clear that the Tories and their fossil fuel friends have turned into the anti-renewables coalition”, adding that “Research has also shown that solar energy generation and food production can co-exist well together, arranged in certain formations, solar panels have been found to boost agricultural production by helping with shading and water conservation during heatwaves, for example”.
In her keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference prime minister Liz Truss listed “Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP, the militant unions, the vested interests dressed up as think-tanks, the talking heads, the Brexit deniers, and Extinction Rebellion” as members of an “anti-growth coalition” determined to hold the UK back.
There are currently 500 solar farms in the UK, providing 28% of the country’s renewable energy. More solar panels were in stalled in 2021 than in the previous 5 years, the amount of energy produced by solar is expected to increase by 500% by 2030.
Dustin Benton, policy advisor at think tank Green Alliance told the Guardian that the UK “desperately needs to expand renewables” to meet the challenges posed by climate change and soaring gas and electricity costs.
This point was also made by Adrian Ramsey, who said “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”.