Research exposes big increase in UK solar preparation refusals

• Analysis highlights 784MW of projects were refused between January and July 2021

Preparation permission for 23 solar farms, totalling 748MW, has actually been declined across England, Wales as well as Scotland between January 2021 and also July 2021, according to new analysis.

Preparation refusals have actually jumped considerably since the begin of 2021, as research conducted by planning as well as advancement working as a consultant Turley discovered that in contrast only 4 projects were rejected preparing permission during 2017, 2018, 2019 and also 2020 combined.

The analysis located that the solar farms that were declined planning permission can have produced 748MW of energy in overall, which is the equal to powering approximately 147,000 houses each year.

The South West and Eastern England had the highest variety of refusals for planning permission, with four projects declined each.

Wales, the West Midlands and also Scotland had 3 refusals each, while the East Midlands, North East and South East each had 2 preparing applications turned down.

This comes after Liz Truss introduced debatable plan to crack down on solar farms, in which she called the sight of solar panels in areas "dismaying", Turley stated.

Solar innovation is detailed as a key contributor to renewable power generation in the Government's British Energy Security Strategy, released in April this year.

The strategy laid out ambitions of generating 70GW of energy from solar modern technology by 2035 as well as promises to seek advice from on changing preparation guidelines to strengthen policy in favour of growth on non-protected land, along with supporting solar that is co-located with other features such as agriculture and recognized energy infrastructure.

Turley associate director Emma Kelly stated: "Solar ought to be a vital factor to the energy market, specifically as we look to diversify our renewable energy items to make sure maintenance of supply.

" The significant uplift in intending permission refusal for solar farms goes completely against the proposals outlined in the Government's British Energy Security Strategy.

" Solar power currently adds 14GW of energy currently, so we have some means to go before reaching the 70GW target.

" If Liz Truss goes on with her strategy, the British Energy Security Strategy will certainly need to be reworded.

" Biodiversity is absolutely a factor we need to take into consideration with solar farms whilst the recurring surge of the price of energy has actually revealed simply how essential renewable resource generation is for the future of the UK.

" An expanding pattern of declining preparation permission for renewable resource projects that are created to support energy security is a substantial action in reverse on our roadway to Net Zero."