Factcheck: Is solar power a ‘threat’ to UK farmland?

The “threat” posed to UK farms by the expansion of solar power has emerged as a campaign issue for the final two candidates in the race to become the nation’s new prime minister.Agricultural machine,gearbox,agricultural gearbox,agricultural reducer，Lithium battery

Both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have warned of solar panels “filling” the UK’s highest quality farmland, joining a chorus of their fellow Conservative MPs who have recently described solar projects as hazards for rural communities and food supply.Agricultural machine,gearbox,agricultural gearbox,agricultural reducer，Lithium battery

There has been some pushback to the view being promoted by Truss and Sunak. For example, in the Times, chief reporter Sean O’Neill wrote that the pair are “displaying staggering ignorance” and “pandering to the whingeing nimbys in their tiny electorate”. In the Daily Telegraph, the paper’s chief city commentator Ben Marlow wrote that “Britain’s culture wars have reached such epically absurd proportions that even the sun is now the enemy”.Agricultural machine,gearbox,agricultural gearbox,agricultural reducer，Lithium battery

Despite the claims, ground-mounted solar panels currently cover just 0.1% of all land in the UK.

Even government plans to significantly scale up solar in line with its net-zero target are expected to bring this up to just 0.3% of the UK land area. This is the equivalent to around 0.5% of the land currently used for farming – and roughly half of the space taken up by golf courses.Agricultural machine,gearbox,agricultural gearbox,agricultural reducer，Lithium battery

In this factcheck, Carbon Brief assesses some of the statements made by UK politicians about solar power in recent months, how land is used in the UK and the concept of “agrivoltaics” – systems in which farmland is effectively combined with solar power.Agricultural machine,gearbox,agricultural gearbox,agricultural reducer，Lithium battery