Ed Miliband’s pledge to install up to one billion solar panels across the UK by 2035 will have a devastating impact on the UK countryside, farming campaigners have warned.
And a clip posted on social media has offered a sobering insight into how his plans will dominate the landscape, covering vast areas.
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Net Zero and Climate Change, has set his ambitious target as part of a broader “solar rooftop revolution” aimed at dramatically increasing the nation’s renewable energy capacity.
Central to his vision is a tripling of solar power generation by 2030 and the widespread installation of rooftop solar systems on homes and businesses.
However, in order to do so, vast numbers of panels will be required and campaigners No Farmers, No Food shared footage shot using a drone which shows one such project.
Posting on X, it commented: “Mass-scale panels on prime agricultural land shouldn’t be allowed.
“As well as destroying our beautiful countryside, it reduces our food supply. Put solar on brownfields, car parks and roofs instead.”
A second post included a photograph of Shotwick Solar Park in North Wales, the UK’s largest such project built to date.
No Farming, No Food commented: “Ed Miliband has approved thousands of screws of mass-scale solar panels on UK farmland and ignored local community objections.
“Solar panels shouldn’t be used on prime farmland. Instead, put them on brownfields, car parks, roofs and roads.”
Earlier this year Italy banned the installation of such ground-mounted solar panels on agricultural land, with the aim of preserving it and preventing its speculative acquisition by investment funds.
Mr Miliband has already approved major solar projects, such as the Sunnica farm in Suffolk, which will generate substantial power and create thousands of jobs.
He explained: “I want to unleash a UK solar rooftop revolution.
“We will encourage builders and homeowners in whatever way we can to deliver this win-win technology to millions of addresses in the UK so people can provide their own electricity, cut their bills, and at the same time help fight climate change.”
The Government yesterday outlined a host of reforms that it will introduce throughout next year to start weaning the UK electricity system off its dependence on fossil fuels by the end of the decade.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Miliband confirmed that ministers will be able to have the final say on approving onshore wind turbines across the UK.
Such decisions have previously been left to councils but strict planning rules introduced by the Conservative government in 2015 meant local opposition has often stalled or blocked projects from moving ahead.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Department of Energy and Climate Change for comment.
