We respond to House of Commons debate on mega solar farms

A general debate took place on large-scale solar farms in the House of Commons today (15 May 2025), called by Sleaford and North Hykeham MP Dr Caroline Johnson.

Responding to the debate, Roger Mortlock, CEO at CPRE said:

‘The wave of applications to build mega solar farms across our countryside is creating a landscape lottery with as much as 7% of some constituencies under threat. These applications are all too often targeted at our best farmland and could take vital areas out of food production for as much as 60 years.

‘Climate change is the single biggest threat to the countryside. When he spoke in today’s debate, energy minister Michael Shanks MP was right to say that the government needs to bring communities with it on the journey to net zero. It’s clear we’ve got to build a clean energy grid fit for the future but the best way to achieve this by giving people a real say in decisions that impact them.

‘The government’s recent commitment to rooftop solar on car parks and new homes is a great start but the UK is still way behind. Recent research from the UK Warehousing Association shows installing solar panels on the roofs of just 20% of the UK’s warehouses would double the country’s total solar energy generation capacity. Meanwhile, CPRE’s own research shows that while countries like Germany generate 80 per cent of their solar on rooftops, 84% of the UK’s comes from good agricultural land.’