New solar farms usually cause a wave of protest. Supporters see the opportunity to generate very cheap electricity much faster than by any other route. And farmers, faced with falling prices for their crops, are tempted by the offer of a secure guaranteed rent for years into the future. But local people object to the impact on the landscape, and claim that the country is being covered with panels, destroying the farmland we depnd on for our food.
The real scale
The scale of solar development is often exaggerated. Two thirds of England’s land area is used for agriculture. There are around 1,700 solar farms, occupying 52,000 acres. That is less than 1% of that area. Far more land is covered by golf courses, quarries or airports.
In the Eastern region, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex have attracted large proposals, because of relatively high solar radiation, extensive open and fairly level farmland, and access to major electricity infrastructure. And although the total area is relatively small, individual schemes can cover thousands of acres, and they can be very visible.
How much is ‘good agricultural land’
England’s agricultural land was originally divided into five categories by the Agricultural Land Classification system. This assesses its suitability for growing crops, including soil, drainage, wetness, drought risk, slope, texture, stoniness and rooting depth. Grade 3, which represents half the area, has since been divided into 3a and 3b. Grades 1, 2 and 3a are collectively known as best and most versatile agricultural land (BMV).
Planning guidance expects solar development to avoid BMV land. Much of the East’s arable farmland is Grade 3, but because overall maps are not sufficiently precise to decide a planning application the government requires a detailed site survey, to establish the extent of BMV land.
But this is not a total ban on the use of BMV land, and the factors which lead to the BMV classification are often the same as those which make it attractive for solar use: flat, well-drained and close to electricity infrastructure. As a result, approximately 30% of the area currently covered by large solar farms in the East is classified as BMV.
Planning priorities
All planning decisions are-trade offs between competing priorities. The key planning question is whether a proposed location represents a reasonable balance between energy need and other uses for the land. So national planning policy says that planners should:
- give preference to previously developed, non-agricultural, poorer-quality or lower-grade land;
- consider whether the proposal genuinely needs agricultural land;
- assess how much BMV land would be affected;
- examine alternative sites, including lower-grade land;
- protect soil during construction and decommissioning;
- consider whether the development is genuinely reversible;
- weigh the benefits of renewable electricity against harm to farming, landscape, biodiversity and local communities.
Where there would be a loss of 20 hectares or more of BMV land, developers must provide a strong justification, and Natural England may need to be consulted.
The case for a solar farm is usually stronger where:
- the land remains capable of grazing or other agricultural use between the panels;
- biodiversity is improved;
- soil is carefully managed;
- equipment can be removed at the end of the project’s life.
Stages of planning
Small schemes are normally decided by the local planning authority but Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP, with a generating capacity of at least 50 MW) are examined by the Planning Inspectorate and decided by the Secretary of State.
The main stages are:
- Site identification and feasibility: The developer assesses land, environmental constraints, access and grid availability.
- Pre-application consultation: The developer consults local authorities, statutory bodies, landowners, communities and other interested parties.
- Environmental and technical studies: These cover ecology, landscape, heritage, flood risk, transport, noise, agriculture and soil.
- Application or development-consent application: The detailed proposal and supporting evidence are formally submitted to the Inspector.
- Public examination or local determination: Inspectors consider the application and objections, support or comments, and make a recommendation.
- Decision: The local authority (or Secretary of State for large projects) decides whether permission or development consent (DCO) should be granted.
- Post-consent conditions: Detailed matters such as construction methods, planting, drainage, soil protection and decommissioning are settled.
- Construction and operation: The project must comply with its consent and associated conditions.
Projects can be delayed or changed at any stage, particularly when grid arrangements, environmental impacts or cumulative effects are unresolved. After approval at stage 6, objections can no longer be made to the principle of the project.
Grid constraints
The electricity grid is one of the strongest influences on solar development, and the grid is not well adapted to current conditions, where generation is dispersed, rather than concentrated in a few large power stations. A new solar project requires a connection with sufficient capacity, usually near a suitable substation. A site may be excellent in every other respect but unusable if the local network is already full.
New substations, transformers, and underground cables can cost millions of pounds and take many years. So, proposals are classified as Gate 1 – with a planning ambition but no reliable date for grid connection – and Gate 2 projects which have an agreed firm grid connection pathway. This explains why solar proposals often cluster around transmission corridors and substations.
Major East of England projects
The table shows the seven NSIPs currently in the pipeline in our region. Only three have so far been approved, and it may be years before those are operational.
| Project | Location | Current approval stage | Acres | Planned maximum output MW |
| Sunnica | Suffolk–Cambs border | Consent granted | 2,400–2,800 | 500 |
| Rivenhall Energy Centre | Essex | Consent granted | Several hundred | 100-200 |
| Fenwick Solar Farm | Essex area | Consent granted | Several hundred | 200 |
| The Droves | West Norfolk/ Breckland | DCO examination under way | 2,075–2,800 | 350-500 |
| East Pye | South Norfolk | DCO examination under way | 2,700 | 350-500 |
| High Grove | Breckland, Norfolk | Pre-application | 4,000 | 700-750 |
| Tasway Energy Park | South Norfolk/ Broadland | Paused before application | 3,600 | 700 |
There are concerns about visual amenity, and about the concentration of large solar farms in particular places. And future development will be limited by the pace of grid development. But, while solar farms occupy 1% of agricultural land, and only 30% of that is BMV, this is not a threat to our food production.
