Large-scale Energy Projects and Food Security

Luke Charters Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

Thank you for calling me, Sir Mark. I congratulate the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Llinos Medi) on securing this debate.

My perspective is informed by my work as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on UK food security —which the hon. Member is welcome to join—and also my role as a member of the Labour Growth Group, which I suspect she may not be willing to join. I am also proud to be an MP who represents some fantastic rural communities.

In all of those roles, I have seen how renewable projects offer farmers crucial opportunities to diversify their income streams in an unpredictable economic climate. The notion that food security and renewable energy are somehow mutually exclusive is a non sequitur. It does not add up, neither logically nor practically. I can attest to this from my own constituency, where thriving farms producing everything from carrots to poultry co-exist alongside new solar schemes, like Hessay, and hopefully Elvington, too. But when a harsh season strikes—such as a devastating flood or drought—farmers face the real possibility of losing a significant portion of their harvest. In those scenarios, having additional income from solar energy can help.

A striking example of this comes from Australia, where sheep farmers have turned to solar farming as secondary income. They allow their sheep to graze among solar panels, keeping the grass short while the panels provide shelter from the sun. One farm even demonstrated an increase in wool production after the installation of their solar farm. It is that kind of innovation in agriculture that we should embrace. The notion that food security and renewable energy are at odds falls at the first inspection.

Currently, ground-mounted solar panels occupy just 0.1% of all land in the UK. Even with ambitious expansion, this is expected to rise to no more than 0.3%. To put that into perspective, that is less than the land currently used by golf courses, and solar farms provide essential services, be that clean energy or income. Finally, solar farms are often built with temporary permissions, and can be decommissioned, returning the land to its original state. Soil disturbance during installation is minimal, and solar farms can actually benefit soil health, helping it recover from a period of intensive agricultural use.

Let me be clear: climate change is itself a major driver of food insecurity. By supporting renewable energy projects, we are not only protecting our environment, but safeguarding the future of food production.

[Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)]

I thank the hon. Member for his comments. He has rightly highlighted that solar farms can be combined with food production. There are studies showing that there are even ways in which crop yields can be increased. But would he therefore encourage the Government to be clearer in their national planning policy framework that if solar farm applications are being put forward, they should be combined with food growing as part of the application?

[Mr Charters]

What will really help is if we work towards a position of having a land management framework, so that we can have the clarity of addressing some of these challenges.

Let me continue. The argument that there has to be a trade-off between food security and renewable energy is misguided. If anything, our farmers’ future depends on our commitment to both. With a small slice of land, a forward-thinking approach and a commitment to combating climate change, we can ensure that our fields are productive for generations to come. The solution is clear: renewables should be seen not as an obstacle to food security, but as a powerful tool to help secure it. As I said, golf courses will take up more land than solar projects, so let’s not get caught in the rough—we need to aim straight for the green.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

I remind Members to bob or to stand if they wish to speak. We are going to be very short of time and I will cut to the Front Benchers when appropriate, even if some Members have not spoken, so if you speak for too long, you are taking time off others.

Contracts for Difference

Luke Charters Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I very much enjoyed my visit to Telford, where I spoke with local business. It is easy to think about these things in very macro terms, of how many gigawatts and so on—the kind of thing I like talking about—but he is right that this is as much, if not more, about all the jobs that we can create in the supply chain. People in this country want hope and change, and this will deliver it.

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

I welcome the auction increasing solar capacity. There are great projects in my constituency, funded via that scheme, such as Hessay solar. Will the Secretary of State visit sunny York to see the site once it is complete, and does he share my conviction that solar will be critical in the energy mix if we are to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and gas?

[Ed Miliband]

I very much welcome my hon. Friend’s embrace of solar as part of the energy mix. It is really important to say this: we need more rooftop solar. Lots of people in this House ask, “Why don’t we do more on rooftops?”, and I agree with them. There is also an important role for ground-mounted solar, however. I very much look forward to coming to York at some point to see the projects he talks about.