Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of the capacity required to meet the 47GW solar target by 2030 will come from (a) rooftop installations, (b) brownfield and previously developed land and (c) greenfield development; and what steps he is taking to prevent the greenfield element falling disproportionately on high-quality agricultural land.

The Government has not set discrete targets for rooftop and ground-mounted solar by 2030.

However, modelling suggests that, even in the most ambitious scenarios, only up to 0.4% of UK land (0.6% of agricultural land) would be devoted to solar in 2030.

Planning guidance makes clear that, wherever possible, developers should utilise brownfield sites. Where the development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred. Each project is subject to a rigorous planning process, in which any impact on land use or food production is considered.