Solar, so good

The thought of losing of productive arable land to renewable-energy developments can be dispiriting and alarming, but informed local knowledge may be the key to their successful design, argues William Kendall

- By William Kendall

THERE are plenty of good reasons to question new building projects on our doorsteps and the inevitable accusations of NIMBYism should never be a deterrent. It's mostly locals who have the time to study the details. My home on the Suffolk coast is overwhelmed by new energy schemes and some of my neighbours, after years of research and campaigning, are now much more knowledgeable about their inadequacies than the experts who originally came up with the plans. Local expertise can frequently identify improvements.

However, it's dispiriting when opposition is based on ignorance rather than hard facts, as it undermines those who do their homework. Country folk can be wary about any change, but most of us do accept that we need a lot more energy from renewable sources and that our villages and market towns could do with some more affordable homes. We have to accept that this will involve sacrificing some farmland for these other priorities. Yes, solar panels should go onto the new factories and warehouses popping up everywhere; but, alone, their output will only deliver a fraction of what Britain requires for the future. We need to build a lot more solar farms and some wind turbines, too.