Solar farms: Can expansion overcome Tory MPs' concerns?

Image source, PA Media

The government needs to generate more renewable energy to meet its emission targets.

Some of its own MPs are against projects that could power hundreds of thousands of homes.

In the past two years, at least 20 people have spoken out against solar or wind projects in their own constituency.

Many of them support increasing energy from renewable sources.

Building wind turbine and solar panel farms in English countryside can be unpopular with the people who live there.

Cabinet ministers are debating giving people who live near wind farms energy bill discounts.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made it clear that offshore wind farms and more nuclear power are his preferred options to tackle the UK's future energy needs.

The government is expected to unveil its new energy strategy next week.

Large solar panel farms have tended to fly under the radar, but are facing increasing local opposition.

A proposal to build the UK's largest solar farm on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border is being opposed by Treasury Minister Lucy Frazer and a former health secretary.

Sunnica said in its application that the development would help to meet the national need for new, renewable means of energy.

Image source, Andrew Sinclair/BBC

Several large-scale solar farms have been applied for in the north of the country.

There are two schemes that cover more than 5,000 acres of land.

It is thought that they could generate more than 800mw of energy, which could power 236,000 homes.

Rick Wilson is a local Green Party member.

He believes his victory over the Conservatives in a recent by-election was due to his opposition to one of the projects.

He says that the project needed to be scaled down and that it would obliterate the area.

There is a lot of support for renewable energy, but it depends on how it is delivered, said Brendan Clarke-Smith, a Conservative Member of Parliament.

The key is making sure this is done in the most effective way and taking into account the views of local people.

He said that communities near solar farms aren't being offered any sort of benefit in terms of their own energy needs, so it's unsurprising there isn't a community buy-in in many cases.

Many people who object to new solar farms think they are an annoyance, but others worry about the impact on nature, or even the food supply.

Kevin Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton, says some people can make more from a solar farm than from the land.

He jokes that he can't be a Nimby because he is also an enthusiastic supporter of the oil and gas industry.

He adds that you cannot divorce the needs of a constituency from the needs of the nation.

Image source, Getty Images

A senior Conservative says that energy should be generated close to the point of demand and that solar panels should be fitted to all new buildings.

The government says that solar energy is subject to strict planning controls to protect the environment.

An important revenue stream for farmers is using agricultural land for solar panels, according to a government source.

The source said that solar power was the cheapest renewable that we have and it could live alongside food production.

It's not going to be easy to convince local people of the need for acres of solar panels or new wind turbine on their doorstep.

Conservative MPs and some of their colleagues in the cabinet have the power to derail Boris Johnson's clean energy ambitions.

A big increase in renewable energy will mean panels, turbine and other kit will need to go somewhere.

It will require delicate diplomacy to determine exactly where.