Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of large-scale solar Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects on (a) long-term food production capacity and (b) the natural environment.

Defra does not collect information on the potential impacts of constructing green energy infrastructure. However, Defra does produce statistical estimates of agricultural land areas each year from the annual June Survey of Agriculture:

• In 2024, the utilised agricultural area (UAA) in England was 8.7 million hectares and this has remained broadly stable, only changing by around +/-1% each year over the past decade. Full breakdowns of agricultural land areas are published here Agricultural land use in England - GOV.UK

• In 2024, around 7,300 hectares of this land were used for solar panels (less than 0.1% of UAA). However, 50% of this land is still being used for agricultural production, such as for livestock grazing.

It is recognised that solar can, when delivered in line with relevant planning policy, have a positive impact on the natural environment, and large-scale solar farms can contribute significant gains for local biodiversity with intelligent design and planning.