Shining a Light on Solar: Time to Look up!

We support solar, but here in Oxfordshire we can afford to be selective.

There’s no denying that the transition to renewable energy is urgent and vital – we at CPRE fully support decarbonising our energy – but did you know that less than 1% of Oxfordshire is needed to produce more than all the solar energy we need? And that we’re already halfway to our solar target for 2050? As we now need only 0.5% of land surface we should now look up to our domestic and industrial roofs and not at our precious green fields for any future installations. Local authorities can – and must – be more discerning about where solar is installed. 

With up to 25 years to install just another 1350 hectares of solar energy across the whole of Oxfordshire – equating to one typical solar farm a year – we can afford to be selective about where solar energy development is located, with no justification for solar farms on the countryside. We must protect valued landscapes and agricultural land for growing much needed food, and instead push for installation on roofs where it would not only save our countryside, but also be nearer to the point of use.  

This weekend sees the end of the Botley West solar farm ‘targeted consultation‘, to which we have continued to object. The project threatens several rights of way, including Dornford Lane, an ancient drovers’ road, home to a rich and varied mix of trees, shrubs and other planting. The planned cable routing will also have an unacceptable impact on valuable restoration meadowland along the Thames, and would be likely to destabilise the riverbank, increasing the risk of towpath erosion. Given the recent increase in flood risks and with the banks are already under pressure, this would only serve to exacerbate the problem.

Research shows that installing solar panels on existing rooftops and other land such as car parks could provide at least 40-50GW of clean power in England by 2035 – more than half of the total national target of 70GW of solar energy by 2035. Given that here in Oxfordshire we’re already reached half our target, shouldn’t we be covering our rooftops instead or our fields?

For more information on the Botley West consultation and for tips on how to object, visit the Stop Botley West website.

You can read our objection in full here.