New net zero minister overturns planning tests to approve solar farm

Ed Miliband, the new UK Energy Secretary, is wasting no time in implementing Labour’s green energy policies, enraging environmentalists, farmers and rural communities in the process.

Since Labour came to power on 4 July, Miliband has given the green light to Sunnica Solar Farm, the UK’s largest greenfield solar farm in Cambridgeshire, as well as two more projects in Rutland and Lincolnshire. The amount of energy generated by the three solar farms will be around two-thirds of the UK’s solar power last year.

Miliband ignored the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendation that the area remain agricultural land and overturned two planning tests introduced by David Cameron’s Conservatives days after taking office. “Some of these cases were on hold for months before I came to the department,” Miliband said. “They were put to me on Monday and I made a decision within three days.”

However, there are concerns that the widespread use of farmland for net zero energy projects would lead to a critical shortfall in the UK’s domestic food supply and greater reliance on imports, as well as concerns about biodiversity, landscape character and the impact on farming and racing, particularly in East Anglia, the heartland of British agriculture. According to The Sunday Times, the proposed projects are the same size as 2,115 football pitches.

Three proposed projects the size of 2,115 football pitches, but it’s not just the scale that has residents and local farmers worried. As newly elected MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire Charlotte Cane said: “This huge Solar Farm is marching across large swaths of my constituency. The Examiner has spent years carefully considering all the issues and all the representations.

“Each affected local authority spent years considering the application and its implications, and all urged that it should be refused. After just a week of consideration, the Secretary of State decided he knew better and gave his consent.”

Cane expressed concerns about negative impacts on food supplies, biodiversity, landscape character and impacts on agriculture and horse racing.

The new Government also decided not to support a new coal mine in Cumbria, approved by the Conservatives.

When Charles III delivers his Royal Speech at the State Opening of Parliament tomorrow, he is likely to announce several measures to achieve net zero emissions, including legislation to create Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company that he hopes will provide widely available affordable renewable energy across the UK.

The new Government also decided not to support a new coal mine in Cumbria, approved by the Conservatives.

The election manifesto pledged to stop all new drilling in the North Sea and set out an interim commitment to reduce emissions from electricity generation to net zero by 2013. These commitments must be balanced by the pragmatic reality that the North Sea oil and gas industry is not something a Government seeking to regenerate its economy can afford to ignore.

Oil and gas still accounts for just under two per cent of the UK economy. In numbers, this equates to £14bn between 2022 and 2023, generating £9bn in tax revenue from higher energy prices. Around 200,000 people are employed directly and indirectly.

Years of underinvestment, restrictive legislation and near cultural indifference have left the UK lagging behind some of its European neighbours when it comes to renewable energy. More than 75% of the UK’s energy comes from fossil fuels. In other words, the UK is likely to remain dependent on fossil fuels for at least the next two decades.

Last week, The Telegraph claimed the government was also considering banning new North Sea oil and gas drilling licences from companies with applications already in progress. It was also reported that it is also believed to be considering blocking outstanding applications from the oil and gas licensing round, which began in late 2022.

In response, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero also stated that it “will not revoke oil and gas production licenses and will manage existing production fields throughout their operational life.”

The new Energy Secretary will also need to be realistic. Britain cannot switch to alternative energy overnight. Critics of the decision to seize open farmland have also pointed to the potential threat posed by the large lithium-ion batteries needed to store the electricity generated by solar panels before it is fed into the National Grid, the UK’s power source.

Moreover, given the continued significant contribution of North Sea oil and gas to the UK economy and the UK’s current growth prospects, the government will have to live alongside the oil and gas industry for the time being. Scrapping oil platforms is also an expensive business, with significant costs to the taxpayer.