Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Not Addressed
It is unclear whether Ministers will maintain the current position whereby grade 3b agricultural land...
Recommendation
It is unclear whether Ministers will maintain the current position whereby grade 3b agricultural land is available for ground-mounted solar installations. We recognise that the Government must balance the needs of energy security with biodiversity protection and food production. Nevertheless, moves to limit the land available for solar installations will make it harder to achieve the Government’s stated ambition in the British Energy Security Strategy to increase solar capacity to 70GW by 2035. We recommend that the Government set out, in its response to this report, its assessment of the likely impact that reducing the classes of land available for ground mounted solar would have on its ability to achieve its own target of 70GW target by
Government Response Summary
The government describes its technology-neutral approach, the importance of renewable energy such as solar panels, and the introduction of uplifted energy efficiency standards. They will explore how they can continue to drive onsite renewable electricity generation in new homes and buildings as part of the full technical consultation on the Future Homes Standard.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
Our approach to achieving higher standards remains technology-neutral, to provide developers with the flexibility to innovate and choose the most appropriate and cost-effective solutions for their site. However, renewable energy, such as that generated from solar panels, is a key part of our strategy to get to net zero via a decarbonised electricity grid. We must therefore take the opportunity, where appropriate, to fit solar panels. The Government introduced an uplift in energy efficiency standards, which came into force in June 2022. The uplift delivers a meaningful reduction in carbon emissions and provides a stepping-stone to the Future Homes Standard in 2025. We expect that in order to comply with the uplift, most developers will choose to install solar panels on new homes or use other low-carbon technology such as a heat pump. Introducing an amendment to mandate solar panels would therefore be largely redundant. We will publish a full technical consultation on the Future Homes Standard later this year. As part of the consultation we will explore how we can continue to drive onsite renewable electricity generation, such as solar panels, where appropriate in new homes and buildings.