Great British Energy Bill

Earl of Caithness Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 13th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, I will speak very briefly to respond to the amendments in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Fuller. We congratulate him on moving his first amendment—indeed, he got his own group of amendments together, which is to be welcomed. I am afraid that, on these Benches, we cannot support what he is doing; this is just not the right Bill to do it. Even if his amendments were successful, all they would do is limit the powers of Great British Energy to do this stuff; they do not limit any other organisation or body from doing it.

It is very important that the Government come forward with the land use framework as quickly as possible—these are important issues. My understanding is that that Bill should come through in April or around then. These are complicated issues; we are a small island and there is lots of competition on our land use.

Labour also promised us a rooftop solar revolution. We strongly support that and encourage the Government to continue to work on its delivery. France, for example, gets 5% of its electricity from solar panels on car parks. I would like to see this Government replicating that. We have heard about warehouses, but many are constructed to a standard that cannot take solar panels, because the roofs are not strong enough. We must do more to get solar panels into commercial spaces and housing.

I also encourage the Government to do more on the future homes standard. There is uncertainty about whether it will have proper, fit and strong purposes and standards for new-build houses. Then there is the issue of retrofitting existing houses and how we get more energy-efficient measures into them.

I will point out something to the Conservative Benches. The idea that we can either eat or have solar panels is a false dichotomy. I note that, while Amendment 67 applies to agricultural land of grades 1, 2 or 3, Amendment 73 applies to agricultural land of grades 4 and 5, so the Conservatives are covering quite a lot of grades with their amendments. I argue that climate change itself is the biggest issue for us in terms of food security, not solar panels that cover far less than 1% of our land. We have just had the worst harvest since 1988—if not ever, as some people say—and that was because of a continuous wet climate. We have had the failure of the last autumn and winter crops. It is climate change itself that is causing us to have problems with food security—and that is causing massive problems for our farmers.

I welcome the amendments but they are not ones that we can support.

[The Earl of Caithness (Con)]

My Lords, I apologise to the Committee for missing the first bit of my noble friend’s introduction to his amendments. I take this opportunity to ask the Minister whether he could update the Committee on where we are with the land use strategy. Like the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, I, too, have been banging that drum for some time.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, gently chided my noble friend for the length of his introduction, I say to her that he is perfectly entitled to speak for 12 and a half minutes when introducing an amendment. That would not be the case if he were just one of the rest of us.

[Lord Ashcombe (Con)]

My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Fuller’s group of amendments. Significant construction projects inevitably bring competing interests. In this case, the clash is between renewable energy development and agriculture, as well as other environmental considerations beyond decarbonisation. Land use, particularly on a densely populated island, must be approached with great care. Currently, we import approximately 40% of our food. While today’s discussions may focus on volatile oil and gas prices, tomorrow’s may shift to the cost and availability of food. This creates a fundamental dilemma. What should take precedence: food or energy?

Food security highlights the need to prioritise high-grade land for agriculture. However, the Government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes—typically on the edge of towns and villages—threatens this priority. Settlements have historically been sited on fertile land, and expanding housing developments will inevitably consume some of it. Essential services such as schools and shops will require further land use, compounding the problem.

Designating renewable energy as part of the nationally significant infrastructure plan risks bypassing legislation designed to protect communities and high-grade land. Restricting onshore renewable projects to grade 4 and 5 land would safeguard high-quality agricultural land and reduce the impact on the more heavily populated areas. According to Solar Energy UK, currently solar installations take almost 20 times the amount of grade 1 land available as opposed to grade 5. I seriously question whether this is the right ratio and ask the Minister whether he believes that it is.

With the Government’s ambitious housing targets, should it not be mandated that all new building, including homes and commercial premises, be fitted with solar panels, as mentioned partially by the noble Earl, Lord Russell? This would make better use of land already out of agricultural use and reduce the pressure while advancing renewable energy goals.

Great British Energy should refrain from developing high-grade agricultural land, nor is there any justification for it to acquire such land unless Amendment 104 is adhered to. Once agricultural land is repurposed for construction, it is rarely restored. At the end of their operational life, renewable projects will leave behind brownfield sites that will probably be redeveloped, permanently altering the land’s use, leading to unintended consequences for the environment.

I draw attention to the potential conflicts between decarbonisation and other environmental concerns—for example, the low-level but persistent noise from onshore wind and solar farms, generated by inverters and transformers, which can disturb rural communities. Biodiversity loss is another critical concern, also highlighted by my noble friend Lord Fuller.

I strongly support the amendments and urge the Committee to carefully balance food security, environmental protection and renewable energy expansion.