Calls for more solar farms in Wiltshire
Wiltshire climate activists say they're needed to meet Net Zero goals
Last updated 25th Jan 2023
Climate activists are urging local government and MPs to support the creation of more solar farms in Wiltshire.
The Wiltshire Climate Alliance has launched a policy paper highlighting how only 6% of power in Wiltshire is generated from renewable energy like solar, despite it being one of the sunniest counties.
The calls from the steering group follow a Government review that set out over 120 recommendations to create a greener economy, as part of plans to reach Net Zero.
Wiltshire Climate Alliance Chair, Adam Walton, said:
“Wiltshire is ideally suited for generating solar power. It's a rural county, there's a lot of land area, a lot of that is not a high food production land. There's already a few solar farms here but there's a lot of scope for more."
Under the Liz Truss government, plans were mooted that would have seen solar banned from land classified as Grade 3b.
But ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have recently confirmed these changes were no longer being considered by the government.
While Wiltshire Council has a target to be carbon neutral by 2030, the county still only generates 6% of power from renewables. Most of this comes from solar power.
But the idea of creating more solar farms isn't popular with everyone in the county.
In June 2022, when wheat imports from Ukraine were being locked up, North Wiltshire MP James Gray told MPs it would be "disgraceful" to use "good, productive agricultural land" for solar farms.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Mr Walton who chairs the Wiltshire Climate Alliance, said the debate on solar farms is often misinformed:
"People look at solar farms, they see them in fields and they think 'that field could be used for food production and we need more domestic food production, so they're competing with food' but that's not really the case.
"If you take the UK Government target for 100% renewable energy generating electricity by 2025, that would require a sevenfold increase in solar, which even then would only be using 0.5% of the UK's land area.
"That's less than the land area currently covered by golf courses. And you don't hear people saying 'we should ban golf courses because they're stopping us having food production'."
Mr Walton added that existing planning rules protect the best land and promote continued agricultural use and biodiversity enhancements.
He continued:
"The cost-of-living crisis is driven by high imported fossil fuel prices.
"Solar is one of the cheapest forms of energy generation, will bring down bills, increase our energy security and contribute to the local economy. But we can’t do this with rooftop solar alone."
We've contacted local government and Wiltshire MPs for a comment.