Terry Jermy calls for compensation amid solar farm plans

Terry Jermy, Labour MP for South West Norfolk, has raised concerns about agricultural land being sacrificed across the region in the name of meeting ambitious net zero targets.

Swaffham, one of the towns in his constituency, is set to be surrounded by two major new projects - High Grove, a 4,000 acre site, and the Droves solar farm, spanning 2,800 acres - which will be the two largest in Britain.

The schemes have already prompted huge opposition in the county and Mr Jermy has attributed some of the blame to landowners being bought out by developers. 

The Droves and High Grove solar farms will be close to the A47 in Swaffham (Image: Ian Burt) He said: "I am concerned about the potential loss of high-quality agricultural land to solar farms. Losing such land inevitably weakens our food security and the carbon footprint of imported food can often be significant.

"That said, the fundamental challenge here is that many of the solar farms are being brought forward by farmers themselves, unable to make ends meet through traditional farming and therefore reliant on diversifying land use and I can see why solar farms are so financially attractive to them."

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Mr Jermy has suggested a greater use of rooftops for solar panels, both commercial and residential, would be a desirable alternative. He has also pledged to lobby the government for greater compensation for those communities hosting large-scale energy projects. 

RWE's initial proposals for the High Grove project (Image: RWE) The two new schemes have already prompted huge opposition in the county.

Because of their size, a decision on whether they can go ahead will ultimately rest with Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy and net zero, rather than local councils.

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Energy Secretary Ed Milliband (Image: Lucy North) This has led Kay Mason Billig, leader of Norfolk County Council, to accuse the government of "riding roughshod" over local opinion as opposition mounts to the growing number of schemes. 

Mr Miliband has previously spoken in favour of solar power and needs to increase renewable energy projects massively if he is to have any hope of meeting the government's environmental targets.