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Written question asked by John Hayes (Conservative) on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 July 2026. It was answered by Michael Shanks (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Solar Power

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the volume of Best and Most Versatile land which will be used to host solar panels resulting from Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects approved in the last five years.

Answer

The government does not currently hold this information.

However, the Department currently monitors the geographical location of solar developments through the Renewable Energy Planning Database. There are plans to broaden the scope of this database to provide information on the area and types of agricultural land used by solar projects.

Planning policies guide developments away from Best and Most Versatile land where possible. The Solar Roadmap published in June 2025 sets out how much land we expect to be taken up by solar farms. Even in ambitious scenarios, we only expect up to 0.4% of total UK land, and up to 0.6% of total agricultural land, to be occupied by 2030.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
18524
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Land Solar power
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk