solar
Two-thirds of mega solar farms built on productive farmland
Thursday 31 July 2025
England’s most productive farmland is being lost to mega solar farms, CPRE research reveals. As the country scales up on solar power, our analysis shows that large-scale developments are putting vital agricultural land at risk, despite alternatives like solar on rooftops and brownfield sites. Research from our new report reveals that 59 per cent of […] Read more >
CPRE responds to Solar Roadmap
Tuesday 8 July 2025
There’s good news – and campaign wins for CPRE – in the government’s new plan for how solar will play its part in getting us to net zero. But there’s a big gap on solving the problems of big solar on the ground, and that could spell bad news for the countryside if nothing changes. […] Read more >
Countryside ahead on rooftop solar but England’s full potential overlooked
Wednesday 10 April 2024
New CPRE analysis reveals that homes in the countryside are leading the way on solar power generation. Forty-eight of the 50 English parliamentary constituencies with the highest domestic solar generation capacity are in rural areas, while all 200 of those with the lowest are in towns and cities. Analysis of local-authority data showed that rural […] Read more >
Investing in Rochford? Here comes another solar farm…
Tuesday 28 November 2023
“It is really great these companies come to Rochford and want to invest in Rochford in these ways to generate electricity to make us less reliant on carbon and foreign country supply.” The above words from Rochford councillor Daniel Efde, as reported by the BBC, give an idea of how some people think. Whether many […] Read more >
Longfield Solar Farm: Shapps gives go-ahead to vast scheme near Chelmsford
Monday 31 July 2023
One of the largest solar farms in the country is to be built near Chelmsford. Longfield Solar Farm will cover 940 acres of arable farmland between the planned Chelmsford Garden Village and Terling, having been granted development consent by Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The decision followed an Examination […] Read more >
Rooftops and car parks can power the country to more than half its solar energy targets, finds new CPRE report
Friday 26 May 2023
More than half of the solar panels required to hit government net-zero targets could be fitted on rooftops and car parks, a new report for CPRE, the countryside charity, has found. The research, by the UCL Energy Institute, shows that decarbonising the grid requires far less land than previously feared. The government is advised to […] Read more >
Unleash potential of rooftop solar to tackle energy crisis, CPRE urges Chancellor
Thursday 17 November 2022
Changes to planning policy could turbocharge the rollout of solar energy and help reduce reliance on gas at little or no cost to the public purse, analysis by CPRE, the countryside charity, has shown. Ahead of the Autumn Statement, CPRE is urging the government to target rooftops, car parks and brownfield sites for a rapid […] Read more >
Solar farms: booklet highlights the factors to consider when deciding on proposals
Thursday 8 September 2022
The issue of solar farms is never far away as the applications continue to flood in and CPRE Essex has already issued a policy statement on the matter. We have also got together with our friends and neighbours at CPRE Hertfordshire, along with a range of other organisations, to produce a booklet entitled The Problem […] Read more >
Farmland that could grow 250,000 tonnes of vegetables a year lost to development, CPRE research shows
Wednesday 20 July 2022
Two million fewer people can be fed their five a day from vegetables homegrown in England as prime farmland lost to development Food security concerns increase, with 60 per cent of England’s finest agricultural land at the highest risk of flooding from climate change Almost 300,000 homes have been built on prime farmland – with […] Read more >
All About Solar: your chance to join free event tackling a contentious subject
Wednesday 20 April 2022
It’s one of the countryside issues of our time: the spread of solar farms across our landscape. The subject is brought into focus tomorrow (Thursday, April 21) in a webinar entitled All About Solar, during which CPRE Essex’s own Richard Haynes will be speaking on the impact of solar farms on landscape and heritage setting. […] Read more >