As global unrest and increasing tariffs unfold, I am very concerned about the threat to our farmland from the drive to install outdated solar panels.
Our members have raised concerns about the takeover by the global solar industry of many thousands of acres of farmland, while 630,000 acres of south-facing commercial roofs lie vacant.
We’re looking at glass, steel and concrete covering areas the size of cities, setting our villages in an industrial landscape.
Good farmland will be locked out for 60 years, handed instead to global companies under long-term contracts, paid for by us with inflated electricity bills.
“It is easy to label concerned residents as ‘nimbys’ to delegitimise their voices”
According to a Lincolnshire farmer, speaking to the BBC, you’d expect a return of maybe £200 an acre a year on corn arable land, and (now) they’re being offered £1,000, index-linked for 50 years.
Solar belongs on roofs, car parks, down railway lines and motorways, located as near to where it is being used as possible, to avoid swathes of countryside being dug up for power cables and large battery sites.
It is easy to label concerned residents as ‘nimbys’, to delegitimise and ride roughshod over them and their voices, but we need energy security and food security. We should be investing in up-to-date technology, using modern solar panels that are light and can easily go on any surface. If you are interested in helping this campaign, please email [email protected]