DEFRA has just announced plans that will see farmers lose their right to claim agricultural subsidies for fields filled with solar panels.
According to DEFRA, this will help the countryside from being blighted by solar farms and will instead see more land used for grazing and growing crops.
This change, which comes into effect from January 2015, means farmers will have to choose whether to use their fields for solar panels or claim farm subsidy payments through the Common Agricultural Policy.
The move has been championed by Environment Secretary, Elizabeth Truss who said: “I am committed to food production in this country and it makes my heart sink to see row upon row of solar panels where once there was a field of wheat or grassland for livestock to graze. That is why I am scrapping farming subsidies for solar fields. Solar panels are best placed on the 250,000 hectares of south facing commercial rooftops where they will not compromise the success of our agricultural industry”.
As well as saving the tax payer £2m in subsidies, the change is also expected to slow the growth of solar farms in the English countryside. There are currently 215 installed with the largest covering as much as 100 hectares. Previously, the number of fields to be dedicated to solar power was set to increase to over 1,000 hectares of ground-based solar farms by the end of the decade. These changes are seen as a way to halt this expansion as it will now become less financially attractive for farmers to invest in solar panels.
DEFRA insists the decision is part of a drive to ensure that the new Common Agricultural Policy delivers maximum benefits for the food and farming industry and provides greater benefits to rural communities, the environment and wildlife.
For further information on renewable energy schemes, please contact us.
We are delighted to welcome senior associate Adam Hale to our agriculture & estates team this month. Adam, a specialist in agricultural law, estate planning and estate administration, joins the…
For prescriptive rights to arise over land, they have to have been exercised without force, secrecy or permission of the landowner. Winterburn v Bennet In the case of Winterburn v Bennett, the…
The High Court decision in Lancashire County Council v The Secretary of State for Environment is a salutary warning to landowners of the risks of not taking steps to prevent…
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through our website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use our website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies but it may affect your browsing experience on our website. You can find our cookie policy here.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for our website to function and enable core functionality such as security and accessibility. These cookies do not store any personal information. You can block these cookies by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
We use performance cookies such as Google Analytics to help us count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. For more information on how these cookies work, please see our cookie policy.