Flatness of our rural landscape is a magnet for new solar farm developments

THE REASON SO MANY ARE BEING PLANNED OR BUILT LIES IN OUR INDUSTRIAL PAST AND FARMERS BEING FORCED TO FIND ALTERNATIVE INCOME STREAMS - LOCAL DEMOCRACY — REPORTER JAMIE WALLER PREDICTS THEY ARE LIKELY TO BECOME THE NORM

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LOVE them or loathe them, it’s undeniable that Lincolnshire is becoming a hotspot for solar farms.

Permission has been granted to put panels on more than 10,000 acres of land, with another 13,000 acres in the planning process.

According to research by campaign group Lincolnshire Against Needless Destruction, this is significantly above the national average. Local leaders and communities have all sounded the alarm over the scale and amount of developments eyeing the county, with one councillor recently describing a proposed development as “an enormous scar on the landscape”.

So why are so many companies seeing Lincolnshire as the ideal place? The answer doesn’t lie in 21st century renewable energy technology, but back in the industrial past.

Solar farms require a grid connection with spare capacity in order to get the energy into people's homes. Lincolnshire’s local ones are clustered around the defunct coal-fired power stations which line the Trent Valley, such as Cottam, West Burton and High Marnham.