OPINION: Suffolk needs smart solar, not speedy schemes

The driver for this is the desire of the Secretary of State, Ed Miliband, to decarbonise our electricity generation by 2030, rather than the previous target of 2035.

Without proper spatial planning, which we’re told will be the responsibility of the new Mayor, speculative and poorly coordinated projects are emerging across our county in something akin to a new gold-rush.

Unfortunately, when it comes to large-scale solar projects in Suffolk, the pre-disposition for private companies to install solar, is across our rural landscape.

At Suffolk County Council, we’re adamant that while solar has a role to play in our energy generation, installations should be rooftop-before-rural. And schemes certainly should not remove any quality agricultural land that is suitable for food production. Yes, our energy security is important to protect, but so is our food security, which should not be put at risk either.

As a council, we also have the highest possible expectations that any solar developer fully rules out any possible links to forced labour in China or elsewhere in the world. Delivering energy security to our nation is vital but it simply must not be done on the back of slavery. It was disappointing, therefore, to see Suffolk’s Labour MPs recently vote against a House of Lords amendment to Great British Energy Bill that would have prevented taxpayers’ money being spent on solar panels manufactured by forced Labour in China.

Anyone who has read my previous thoughts on solar projects touted for Suffolk, will know the debacle that surrounded the now-granted Sunnica solar farm spanning the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border.

We are now faced with the risk of similarly misplaced and misjudged proposal in the north of Suffolk. The EcoPower 250-megawatt solar farm and battery energy storage project proposes over 1,500 acres over coverage at multiple sites in the parishes of Occold, Eye, Brome and Oakley, Stuston, Thrandeston, Mellis, Burgate, Thornham Parva, Gislingham and Yaxley.

It is already showing the hallmarks of causing irreversible damage to local communities, even although it has not been built. I’ve met local residents who have seen the value of their properties fall overnight, even one who was in the process of selling her house, only to be told by her estate agent that a sale is now unlikely following the launch of the EcoPower project.

Irrespective of the eyesores, construction disruption, damage to local ecology – which are all profoundly serious – the impact that these projects have on local communities can be devastating. Local people should be front and centre when companies put forward these schemes, but sadly they rarely are and I’ve seen little in the way of mitigations from EcoPower.

The EcoPower proposal will only have two rounds of consultation. It is clearly being rushed through as quickly as the planning process will allow. There is no time for residents and businesses to understand the effects of the project, and make meaningful representations.

This hurried process also adds pressure on the county council, as it has required significant additional resources and staff to manage – our objection was a 142-page document, something which doesn’t just happen overnight. And this is on top of the other energy projects and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects that we are already dealing with.

Why this breakneck speed from the project promoter? As I mentioned in my opening lines, I believe it is influenced by the government’s unrealistic obsession to decarbonise our electricity supply by 2030. They must slow down to allow for proper planning, coordination of energy projects, and fair treatment of communities.

So what is our solution?

Our communities simply must come first. We must prioritise brownfield sites and protect good agricultural land from vast solar schemes, like EcoPower. There is a role for solar on rooftops and along infrastructure corridors but not on prime agricultural land which is vital for food production.

Councillor Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Devolution, Local Government Reform and NSIPs.