Farmers protest solar on farmland

A new round of British farm protests is targeting solar schemes on agricultural land after a string of approvals for large projects, including the 800 megawatt Springwell Solar Farm in Lincolnshire on April 8. (gov.uk) The latest flashpoint came on April 15, when the NoFarmsNoFoods campaign posted videos on X arguing that productive fields should stay in food production and that solar should go on car parks and roofs instead. The group’s posts followed a Westminster Hall debate on April 14 about alternatives to ground-mounted solar panels. (x.com 1) (x.com 2) (parallelparliament.co.uk) That debate centered on projects such as Green Hill in Northamptonshire, which Conservative Member of Parliament Sarah Bool said would cover 1,200 hectares and include 65% “best and most versatile” farmland. In Lincolnshire, local authorities say the newly approved Springwell scheme will cover about 1,280 hectares, including roughly 580 hectares of “best and most versatile” land. (parallelparliament.co.uk) (lincolnshire.gov.uk) The argument is landing in a policy fight that has shifted over two governments. In May 2024, the Conservative government said the best agricultural land should be protected and that brownfield sites, industrial land, rooftops and lower-quality farmland should be prioritized for solar. (gov.uk) Since then, the Labour government has moved to speed up solar buildout as part of its Clean Power 2030 plan. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Solar Roadmap, published June 30, 2025, says the country needs a large increase in deployment, and Parliament’s research service says the target is 45 to 57 gigawatts of installed solar capacity by 2030, up from 18.1 gigawatts in March 2025. (gov.uk) (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The planning rules now in force still tell developers to steer away from the highest-grade farmland where possible. The 2025 National Policy Statement for renewable energy infrastructure, which took effect on January 6, 2026, is the main policy document for ministers deciding nationally significant solar projects in England and Wales. (gov.uk 1) (gov.uk 2) Food security is part of the politics because the United Kingdom still gets a large share of its food from abroad. Defra’s 2024 food security report said the production-to-supply ratio was 62% for all food and 75% for foods that can be produced domestically in 2023, while cautioning that food security cannot be reduced to a single self-sufficiency number. (gov.uk 1) (gov.uk 2) Ministers make the opposite case on energy security. Announcing Springwell’s approval on April 8, Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the project could power more than 180,000 homes a year and called solar one of the cheapest forms of power as Britain tries to cut exposure to fossil fuel markets. (gov.uk) The Springwell decision also showed how these fights now play out. The application was submitted on November 20, 2024, accepted on December 18, 2024, examined from May 7 to October 8, 2025, and approved by Minister Whitehead on behalf of the secretary of state on April 8, 2026. (national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk) (nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk) That leaves campaigners pressing the same demand in sharper terms: put more panels on roofs, warehouses, reservoirs and car parks before fields. The government, for now, is approving both rooftop expansion and more ground-mounted solar as it tries to hit its 2030 electricity target. (gov.uk) (gov.uk)