Debate on the role of neighbourhood plans in planning decisions
A Westminster Hall debate has been scheduled for 9.30am on 9 July on the role of neighbourhood plans in planning decisions. The debate will be opened by Dr Luke Evans MP.

This briefing covers planning policy for solar farms in England and the devolved administrations and commentary on the use of agricultural land for solar farms.
Planning for solar farms (May 2024) (2 MB , PDF)
There will be a general debate on solar farms in the Chamber on 15 May 2025. This webpage provides summary information about solar farms and the planning consents required, prepared ahead of the debate. The attached PDF briefing was published on 20 May 2024. It provides information about solar farms, including about land use and detail on planning processes in the devolved administrations as of that date. |
The government set a legally binding target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As part of meeting this target, the government has set the aim of delivering clean power by 2030. This means low-carbon power sources would produce at least 95% of Great Britain’s electricity generation.
The governments Clean Power 2030 Action Plan (December 2024) provides further detail on the clean power target. It includes a target for the total installed capacity of solar installations to reach 45-57 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, about 2.5 times the installed capacity in March 2025 (18.1 GW). It noted that there is the potential for an additional 9-10 GW by 2030 though the deployment of rooftop solar. The Library briefing, Clean power targets (March 2025) provides more detail about targets for different renewables technologies.
The government has relaunched the Solar Taskforce, a joint government industry body. The Taskforce will publish a solar roadmap that will set out a “step by step deployment trajectory” and recommendations to government and industry for actions needed to meet the governments targets. The Clean Power Action Plan stated the roadmap was expected in Spring 2025.
Reaching the government’s targets on solar energy require big increases in solar deployment. The government says that achieving these targets will include both ground-mounted solar farms and rooftop installations.
Solar farms (also known as solar parks or solar power stations) are installations of multiple solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. They generate electricity at a large scale to feed into the grid and to supply power on a commercial basis.
Most solar farms consist of ground-mounted panels which are sited on land rather than rooftops. Unlike rooftop panels, ground-mounted panels can be more easily placed away from shade and can be tilted so they are at the right angle to harvest sunlight most efficiently throughout the day and the year. The International Energy Agency has said that “utility-scale solar PV is the least costly option for new electricity generation in a significant majority of countries worldwide”.
Solar farms have a typical lifespan of about 30 to 40 years. Planning permissions are usually time limited and conditions may be attached to require that the land is restored to its previous use once the installations are no longer in use.
Solar farms are sometimes accompanied by Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) nearby, which can store excess energy when supply is higher than demand.
In 2024, electricity generation from solar photovoltaics (PV) amounted to 14.8 Terrawatt-hours (TWh). A TWh is equivalent to a trillion watt hours. This was around 10% of renewable electricity generated and 5% of total electricity generated in the UK.
The chart below shows that the cumulative installed capacity of solar power in the UK has grown substantially since 2010. This includes solar systems of any size, both small-scale solar systems that are installed by households for their direct consumption and large-scale solar farms. It also includes both rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations.
In March 2025, there were around 1.8 million solar installations with a cumulative capacity of 18.1 gigawatts (GW) in the UK (up from 0.03 GW, in January 2010).
Source: DESNZ, Solar photovoltaics deployment, 24 April 2025.
Solar farms are not evenly distributed across the UK. 41% of ground-mounted installations (that have a capacity of at least one MW) that are already operational or are awaiting/under construction are located in the South East and South West of England. This is because the potential for solar power is greater further south in the UK.
At the end of September 2024, ground-mount solar panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares, which is around 0.1 per cent of the total land area of the UK.
Solar farms require planning permission. The size of a solar farm will determine which body decides the application. In 2025, in England:
Planning is a devolved matter. In the devolved administrations, the size of a solar farm will also determine whether the LPA or the government decide an application. Thresholds differ across the UK. The attached briefing sets out planning rules for solar farms in the devolved administrations as of May 2024.
The government is in the process of making policy and legislative changes to the Town and Country Planning and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project planning regimes in England. These are relevant to renewable energy infrastructure development, including solar farms.
The attached briefing sets out planning rules for solar farms as of May 2024. The following are key updates since then with respect to solar farms in England:
There have been concerns raised about the impact of large-scale solar farms on the countryside, particularly regarding agricultural land and the impact on food security and biodiversity. Some MPs have also raised concerns about the clustering of large-scale solar farms around grid connections, and the cumulative impact of multiple solar farms in an area.
Some organisations, such as the countryside charity CPRE, have expressed concern that “valuable farmland” is often “the location of choice for solar developments”. CPRE has said it is “essential” to preserve agricultural land for food production.
Renewable energy groups, such as Solar Energy UK, have argued that “solar farms pose no threat to the UK’s food security” (PDF). Renewable energy groups also point to the multi-functional use of land, for example, grazing sheep on solar farms, to highlight that solar power and farming are not always mutually exclusive and that well-managed solar farms can support biodiversity.
Government guidance encourages renewable energy developments in England to use previously developed and non-agricultural land.
For small-scale solar farms (currently below 50 MW) government planning practice guidance says that planning authorities should encourage development on previously developed and non-agricultural land. The National Planning Policy Framework states that when located in the Green Belt, elements of many renewable energy projects will comprise inappropriate development” (NPPF, para 160).
For large-scale farms that are NSIPs, the national policy statement for renewable energy infrastructure advises that solar farms should be sited on previously developed and non-agricultural land. However, it does not prohibit the siting of solar farms on agricultural land.
Solar Energy UK notes that solar farms are often located on agricultural land, because areas of poorer quality land are often unsuitable for solar farm development, for example due to “absence of suitable grid access, flood risk, terrain difficulties or the land simply being unavailable for development”.
There are several ongoing reviews relevant to land use planning for renewable energy developments. Great Britain’s National Energy System Operator (NESO) is preparing a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, that will map potential locations, quantities and types of electricity and hydrogen generation and storage infrastructure over time. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are also working on producing a new land use framework for England.
Planning for solar farms (May 2024) (2 MB , PDF)
A Westminster Hall debate has been scheduled for 9.30am on 9 July on the role of neighbourhood plans in planning decisions. The debate will be opened by Dr Luke Evans MP.
The Water Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 16 October 2024, and its second reading took place on 28 March 2025. The second reading debate was adjourned, and is scheduled to continue on 4 July 2025, if there is time in the sitting. The Library briefing provides an overview of the bill and background information.
Typical household energy bills increased by 54% in April 2022 and 27% in October 2022. Lower wholesale prices have led to falls in prices, but current bills are still 43% above their winter 2021/22 levels.