Government claims solar farms in Lincolnshire would use less agricultural land than golf courses

Lincolnshire has seen an influx of solar farm proposals in recent years, some exceeding 50MW and therefore classed as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), requiring ministerial approval.

Proposals below that threshold are determined by the local planning authority—either the district or borough council.

Major proposals, including the Heckington Fen Solar Park, Mallard Pass Solar Farm near Stamford, and the West Burton Solar Project, have been approved since the last general election, with officials stating that solar is at the heart of efforts to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

Local campaigners argue that farmland should be used for growing food, calling for solar panels to be placed on rooftops or brownfield sites to protect food security and preserve Lincolnshire’s countryside.

With more NSIPs for Lincolnshire at various stages of the planning process—including the One Earth Solar project, which would cover the equivalent of 2,800 football pitches around the River Trent and power 200,000 homes—a government spokesperson has insisted that solar would still occupy less than one per cent of the UK’s farmland.

They said: “This Government recognises food security is national security, and our plans to boost solar power do not risk the UK’s food security.

“Even in the most ambitious scenarios, solar would still occupy less than one per cent of the UK’s agricultural land—less than is used for golf courses—while bringing huge benefits for the British public and our energy security.”

The statement follows a Facebook post in a local campaign group criticising Daniel Zeichner MP, Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs, for remaining silent on the issue.

Campaigner Andrew Malkin wrote: “We have been writing to him since the start of the year to get his views on how new energy infrastructure on thousands of acres of the country’s best arable land here in Lincolnshire might impact food security.

“Apart from auto-responses confirming receipt of our multiple emails, he has said nothing, nowt, zero, zilch.”

The Government has stated that all ministerial correspondence will be replied to.