Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Large-scale Solar Farms

Tuesday 18 November 2025 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Charlie Dewhirst questioned the prudence of continuing major solar farm applications without a joined-up strategy for energy production and a land use framework from DEFRA.
  • Alistair Strathern highlighted the importance of solar energy in securing clean and cheaper energy, emphasizing the need to make better use of rooftops for solar installations.
  • Greg Smith agreed with the Minister on prioritizing rooftop solar installations to protect agricultural land from ground-mounted solar installations.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Charlie Dewhirst Con Bridlington and The Wolds
Energy Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question follows discussions on the development of large-scale solar farms, which are subject to quasi-judicial planning decisions by the Secretary of State.

Question

Given that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has yet to publish its land use framework or its 25-year farming road map, would it be prudent for the Government to pause all major solar farm applications until such time as they have a joined-up strategy for energy production on agricultural land?

Answer from The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)

There were 14 years when the Conservative party could have had a land use framework or a centralised strategic spatial energy plan, but it did not. We are now doing those things, and there will be an alignment between the strategic plan for energy and the work that DEFRA is doing on a land use framework. On solar, even the most ambitious plans for the roll-out of ground-mounted solar would use only 0.4% of UK land by 2030. These projects are important for constituents and people across the country if we are to bring down bills as quickly as possible, and they go through a rigorous planning process.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The minister did not directly address whether major solar farm applications should be paused pending the development of a land use framework and 25-year farming road map.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q2 Alistair Strathern Lab Hitchin
Climate Energy
Context

The question addresses the issue of using rooftops for solar panel installations to reduce land use pressure.

Question

Solar energy is an important part of securing clean, cheaper energy for our country, but one way to reduce its pressure on land use is to ensure that we are making better use of rooftops. It is fantastic that after my campaigning, we are going to be much tougher in requiring new homes to come with solar panels, but all too often car parks and commercial properties are still not making full use of the technology. How can we do far more to make use of those rooftops too, in order to generate the clean, cheap power that we all need?

Answer from The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is a broad consensus across the House that if we can put solar on rooftops, that space can be utilised to generate clean power. We are ambitious and excited about the opportunity to put solar panels on as many rooftops as possible. We consulted recently on whether car parks should have solar panels on them. We are looking through the responses to that consultation and will say more in due course, but wherever possible, if we can generate clean, cheap power by utilising rooftops for solar, we want to do it.

Answered

Not addressed: null

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q3 Greg Smith Con Mid Buckinghamshire
Climate Energy Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question addresses the claim that up to 5% of UK cropland is at risk from solar installations, questioning why the government maintains its stance on a land take of 1%. The question also references food security as national security.

Question

I agree with the Minister that rooftops are the place to put solar. Indeed, as my right hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho) made clear when she was Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, agricultural land should be protected from ground-mounted solar installations. The campaign group Stop Oversized Solar has found that operational sites and solar facilities in the planning pipeline alone are set to replace an area of farmland bigger than Merseyside, and that overall up to 5% of UK cropland is at risk from solar, so why do the Government persist with their claim that land take will be 1%? When Labour said that food security is national security, did the energy team not get the memo?

Answer from The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)

I always welcome consensus in the House, so I am delighted to hear that there is still consensus on rooftop solar. The Conservatives have moved away from so many of their previous positions and I was not sure if this was going to be another, although I wonder why that rooftop solar was not built over the past 14 years. But we will leave that to one side.<br/><br/>On the hon. Gentleman’s question about land use, we have been clear that ground-mounted solar will play an important part as the energy cannot all be generated from rooftop solar, but we want to ensure that communities are part of the decision making. The planning process is hugely important in that, but we also recognise that some communities have felt that there has not been a joined-up strategic approach. That is why we are publishing the strategic spatial energy plan, alongside the land use framework. Even in our most ambitious scenarios, 0.4% of land will be taken up with solar.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The minister did not directly address the discrepancy between the government's claim of a 1% land take and the reported risk of up to 5% cropland being at risk from solar installations, nor did they comment on whether this aligns with Labour's view that food security is national security.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email