12 January 2025
With the UK government recently committing to a target of 47 gigawatts of solar power by 2030 – nearly tripling the existing 15 GW of installed capacity – there will be a significant increase in the number, size and scale of solar developments seeking planning consent.
At the same time, the range of energy, environment and planning policy legislation and guidance for UK and devolved authorities has increased complexity for decisionmakers leading to inconsistencies in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.
ISEP has published the new guidance Solar PV on Agricultural Land – Essential Components of Environmental Assessments and Reports to support consistent, evidence-based decision-making for all sides of the UK planning system, including for environmental consultants, developers, and local planning authorities. The guidance supports projects by setting out clear expectations for Agricultural Land Classification surveys, soils, biodiversity net gain, pollution risk management, and socio-economic analysis.
ISEP Senior Policy Lead for Impact Assessment, Dr Rufus Howard, said: “There is inconsistency in the approaches taken for Environmental Impact Assessments and planning applications for solar PV projects.
“With a significant increase in the number, size and scale of solar developments seeking planning consent expected in the next 5 years, there are risks for agricultural land in the UK without proper assessment.
“We need a balance between tackling energy security and the climate crisis, our need for food security and preserving biodiversity and natural habitats.
“Providing detailed best-practice guidance, will help developers, environmental consultants, and local planning authorities deliver consistent, transparent, and high-quality assessments that balance renewable energy against food production needs and the sustainability of our rural environment.
“Crucially this guidance emphasises the importance of protecting the ‘best and most versatile’ (BMV) agricultural land and maintaining the reversibility of solar developments.
“We recommend promoting the use of poorer-quality land wherever possible and call for independent soil audits following decommissioning to ensure farmland can be restored to good condition.
“Beyond the technical aspects, the guidance also recognises the broader environmental and social dimensions of solar expansion: impacts on rural livelihoods as well as opportunities for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.”
Projects for solar PV range from those covering a few hectares (ha) to large schemes covering hundreds of hectares, including some in excess of 1,200 ha. Following the revision of the latest National Planning Policy Framework:
- Local Planning Authorities will be responsible for low carbon energy developments of 100 megawatts (MW) or less, which typically occupy up to 150 ha;
- Solar farms over 100 MW capacity, classed as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), are considered by the Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero via a Development Consent Order (DCO), and the affected LPAs are statutory consultees.
- An EIA is likely to be required for solar PV development in environmentally sensitive or vulnerable locations, and for most NSIPs.
Currently solar farms occupy less than 0.1% of UK land, according to data presented by Solar Energy UK (a solar industry trade body). To meet the government’s net-zero target, the Climate Change Committee estimates that we will need 90 GW of solar by 2050 (70 GW by 2035), which would mean solar farms would at most account for approximately 0.6% of UK land.
Conversely, in July 2025 CPRE pointed out that 59% of England’s largest operational solar farms are located on productive farmland, principally in the arable East of England, where almost a third (31%) of the area they cover is classified as BMV agricultural land.
