Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rural communities benefit from hosting ground-mounted solar farm infrastructure on agricultural land.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, such as solar farms, they directly benefit from it. The relaunched Solar Taskforce, which will set out how Government and industry can radically increase the level of solar deployment required by 2030, is considering how best to ensure that communities receive appropriate benefits. Its recommendations will be made in a Solar Roadmap, due to be published shortly.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to require all car parks with more than 80 spaces to install solar canopies over at least half the area they cover.
Answered by Graham Stuart
I refer the hon Member to the reply I gave on 14 June 2023 to my hon Friend the Member for North East Hampshire (Ranil Jayawardena) to Question UIN 188072.
The Government is looking to facilitate and promote extensive deployment of rooftop solar on industrial and commercial property in order to make maximum usage of available surfaces for business as well as environmental and climate benefits.
The Government will consider how else to extend deployment further, including with solar car parks.