Mastodawn

“Solar is taking away all this land [0.3% of UK land, less than airports] that produces food [and biofuels], when you can build a Sizewell C [in 25 years for 1000% the cost] with less impact [if you ignore the waste and dump it somewhere I don’t walk my dog].” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/21/lincolnshire-solar-farm-controversy-british-countryside

‘It was our little idyll – until the solar farm landed’: the battle raging in the heart of the British countryside

In one corner, clean energy champion Ed Miliband. In the other, residents – and Reform politicians – outraged at plans for more large-scale solar farms in Lincolnshire than anywhere else in the UK

The Guardian

Phil Sturgeon 3d ago

It’s reprehensible that during yet another period of fossil fuel instability pushing step changes in renewable deployments to cut costs for everyone whilst also helping the climate @TheGuardian are platforming climate denying NIMBYs and Reform muppets for just to rile up their liberal base enough to get clicks. https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-wars-renewable-energy-asia-4b5fe0693ce5816472c905db85f7da6e

Iran war energy crisis is a renewable energy wake-up call

The Iran war is exposing how much the global economy still depends on fragile fossil fuel supplies. The conflict has virtually choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. That's shaking up markets and pushing prices higher. Countries reliant on imported fossil fuels — from wealthy industrial economies to poorer developing nations — are facing major disruptions that can quickly ripple through utility bills, food prices, transport costs and electrical grids. Analysts say the crisis is a stark reminder that energy security is not just about stockpiles and shipping, but also about the lagging transition to renewable energy.

AP News

Martin Gleadow 3d ago

@Philsturgeon @TheGuardian there's a certain class of Guardian reader that really grates on me, and it's the kind all these articles target. They are the well to do ethical consumers who just want to spend more on green washed goods and feel superior while being oblivious to realities.

Also (most) farmland isn't natural; it's industrialised land!

Ken Milmore 3d ago

@mgleadow @Philsturgeon @TheGuardian It would be good if those new solar farms were state owned though. Then one day they might be able to reduce everyone's electricity bills instead of paying landowners for electricity.

Martin Gleadow 3d ago

@kbm0 @Philsturgeon @TheGuardian in principle I agree, but first we need to purge the state of corporate involvement as right now I just don't trust them to run a bath

Ken Milmore 3d ago

@mgleadow @Philsturgeon @TheGuardian Ah this is the trouble: Where do we stash the silver to stop someone from selling it off later?

Phil Sturgeon 3d ago

@kbm0 nobody is a bigger fan of community renewables than me. Labour have reduced GB Energy from £28bn a year to £1bn a year to £1bn by 2030.

Labour love PFI more than anything, and the guardian is trying to stop even that.

We need solar in any form at all but denying all of it is the problem here. These NIMBYs wouldn’t care who owned it.

@mgleadow @TheGuardian

@Philsturgeon @TheGuardian
I was quite disappointed by that article.

It's the sort of thing that convinced me to cancel my subscription. That and the adverts.

@Philsturgeon Lincolnshire of all counties should be very hot on preventing as much climate change as possible

@Philsturgeon pretty much sums it up.

I'm sure I read somewhere that golf course represent a larger area of land than would be required to generate enough solar for the entire county!

Phil Sturgeon 3d ago

@Pionir correct and the source is right here. https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-is-solar-power-a-threat-to-uk-farmland/

Factcheck: Is solar power a ‘threat’ to UK farmland? - Carbon Brief

The “threat” posed to UK farms by the expansion of solar power has emerged as a campaign issue for the final two in the race to become PM.

Carbon Brief

Peter Brown 3d ago

@Philsturgeon has nobody heard of agrivoltaics? They increase solar production and agricultural production at the same time on the same land.

Phil Sturgeon 3d ago

@peterbrown it’s fucking tedious how few have. https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/markets-and-trends/input-prices/payments-offered-for-sheep-to-graze-large-solar-sites

Payments offered for sheep to graze large solar sites - Farmers Weekly

Significant growth in the solar energy sector is providing a new revenue stream for sheep farmers, with payments in return for grazing fields with

Farmers Weekly

@Philsturgeon Unpopular opinion, but I understand their noise concerns. But I'd bet a penny to a pound that it's a solveable problem if the government would enforce proper noise constraints on the private developers.

Dumb as rocks if they think voting Reform is the answer though.

Phil Sturgeon 2d ago

@GlasWolf I’ve got several solar farms around me and the only thing I can hear when I walk through them is noisy cars on surrounding roads. I literally live underneath six solar panels. Not sure what people are on about when they talk about noise.

@Philsturgeon They're specifically referring to substation hum. Though 500 metres does seem plenty of distance for it to dissipate.

Phil Sturgeon 2d ago

@GlasWolf these solar farms are replacing a coal plant so I even if I generously chose to ignore all of the other impacts I cannot imagine the substation is louder now than before.