The Environment Secretary Liz Truss has described solar farms as “ugly” and that their expansion may displace land for growing vegetables and fruits such as apples, saying "We import two-thirds of our apples, and using more land for solar panels makes it harder to improve that" (1). Jenny Jones, the London Assembly member who produced a report calling for far greater deployment of solar energy in London (2), recently backed a solar farm proposal in Enfield (Sloeman’s Farm) (3), which would have increased London’s overall solar electricity generating capacity by about a third.
Jenny Jones said:
“This misguided attack by the Environment Secretary deliberately ignores the fact that the planning system is already there to prevent unsightly and overly dominant solar farms or their deployment on high quality productive agricultural land. Where they do go ahead on poorer grade soils, planning conditions should ensure that they boost biodiversity and revert back to their original use when appropriate”
“The suggestion that solar farm growth will displace land for growing apples and increase our dependence on imported apples is total nonsense. Prior to the emergence of solar, UK orchards had been in decline for decades, thanks to continued Government neglect and lack of support from the big supermarkets”
“At a time when we really need solar to play a major role in our energy mix and energy security, whether from solar farms on lower grade agricultural soils, or the empty roof tops of London’s businesses, Government should be getting right behind this, not undermining and stifling its growth”
Editors Notes
(1) ‘solar farms are a blight on the landscape’ says minister http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29679312
(2) Jenny’s report on solar energy https://www.london.gov.uk/media/assembly-member-press-releases/green-party/2014/07/news-from-jenny-jones-am-why-is-london-missing-out-on-the-solar
(3) http://www.enfieldgreens.org.uk/docs/jj-4064%20sloemans%20farm%20planning%20proposal.pdf