
The UK government has opened consultation on a land use framework that could make it less likely “high quality farmland” is lost to renewable energy projects.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) opened consultation on the framework on 31 January, stating that the framework will not “tell people what to do with their fields or replace the planning system”, but set out a direction for England’s land use and recognise the challenges that land managers face.
The framework was first suggested in 2021, and was due to be published in 2023. Considerable delays have seen the scope and focus of the framework change over time. Defra said this land use framework will ensure “less of our high quality farmland is taken out of production”.
According to environment secretary Steve Reed, the land use framework will “work hand in hand” with government housing and energy plans, so Clean Power by 2030 can be achieved, “without jeopardising food production or nature”.
Government analysis found that farming land will have to be repurposed to meet its legal environmental and climate targets by 2050. The consultation also points out, however, all key utilities across England in 2022, including solar and wind farms, power stations, water works, gas works, and refuse disposal places, covered just 0.2% of land.

It has been suggested that to meet the UK’s net zero goals, solar PV would take up 0.29% of available land (and 0.51% of all available agricultural land). To put this into perspective, UK airports currently use 0.2% of available land and golf courses use 0.51% of available land.
Ahead of the consultation opening, energy secretary Ed Miliband approved two solar nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), both of which are partly on agricultural land. Environment secretary Reed said the framework will provide information making it “less likely that land will be used for solar farms when it is good for food production”.
Solar industry trade association Solar energy UK welcomed the consultation, noting that solar farms offer “multiple simultaneous benefits”. As well as the proven biodiversity improvements that a solar development can provide to an area, SEUK has worked to prove that agriculture and solar generation can coexist, benefitting farmers.
This has been seen with Elements Green’s Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park, which will be the “largest UK solar farm to embrace grazing”.
Since coming to power last year, the government has made significant efforts to counter the anti-solar rhetoric that the topic of food security enabled under the Conservative government. Notably, the national planning policy framework has been updated to make clear that the grade of agricultural land that may be used for solar development “should not be a predominating factor” in determining applications.