Claydons Solar Action Group

09/10/2026

So very very sad.

Yesterday, the Government granted Green Hill Solar scheme: a scheme covering approximately 3,000 acres across the Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes area.

There is no getting away from the fact that national planning policy increasingly favours renewable energy. It’s a tough pill to swallow for those of us who have experience battling inappropriate solar schemes.

Substantial weight is given to the benefits of renewable energy, and applicants are not required to demonstrate a specific need. And yet, still, Best and Most Versatile agricultural land is not automatically protected.

It increasingly feels as though developers are being given carte blanche in our countryside.

So what about:

🌾 Food production and long-term food security? Are we properly measuring the cumulative loss of productive farmland? The answer is no!

👩‍🌾 Farming families and viable farm businesses? They are the very fabric of our countryside.

🌿 Existing habitats, biodiversity and rural landscapes? Can newly created habitats truly replace what is lost?

🏘️ Local communities and their ability to influence decisions? Do local people have a meaningful say in decisions that will transform their environments?

Dual-use solar may have potential, but claims of continued grazing or agricultural production must be supported by real evidence — not aspiration or just words.

Before productive farmland is committed to decades of energy generation, we should fully consider rooftops, commercial buildings, car parks, brownfield land and other suitable alternatives. But this is just not happening.

The countryside is not an empty space waiting for its next commercial use. It feeds us, supports livelihoods, sustains wildlife and connects generations.

This is not an argument against renewable energy. It is an argument for balance, proper scrutiny and respect for the land and communities that bear the consequences.

What do we want for our countryside?

A landscape increasingly shaped by national targets and commercial returns?

Or a planning system that values local food, farming families, nature, landscape and community alongside clean energy?

We need a moral reset.

Clean energy, yes. But not at any cost.

And so, here is a photo of our fields today. Freshly ploughed, ready for another season. This is what productive countryside looks like. 🌾

09/10/2026

Neraby NSIP solar farm approved.

"Government inspectors acknowledged that 854.5 hectares of the best and most versatile agricultural land would be unavailable for arable farming during the scheme's lifetime.

The decision also recognised negative impacts on the landscape and historic environment, while concerns were raised about the displacement of skylarks and other ground-nesting birds." https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/controversial-500mw-solar-farm-spanning-milton-keynes-approved-despite-concerns-over-farmland-and-wildlife-9275679?fbclid=IwZnRzaAU1c-xleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAXNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5bApgGnAM8a-Ux7dzuvNCOe-OJpJ-mK2X4oLEIqDZDTLZSBTi7TVaAI9avqw_aem_MevLMUUyrRB8IlQZuww6VQ

A huge solar farm stretching across large parts of Milton Keynes and into the Northamptonshire area has been given Government approval despite concerns over its impact on farmland, wildlife and the countryside.

06/10/2026

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/10/05/reform-council-launches-judicial-review-against-solar-farm/

Lincolnshire local authority seeks to block renewable energy development

18/09/2026

Europe's Biggest Independent Solar Operator Just Went Bankrupt
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Europes-Biggest-Independent-Solar-Operator-Just-Went-Bankrupt.html

The soaring wind and solar capacity installations in Germany have created an unsustainable business and project economics environment in the sector amid slower grid expansion and electricity generation curtailments.

In 2023, Germany crossed the 50% mark of the share of renewable energy in its electricity generation.

This year, renewable energy accounted for a record-high 58% of Germany’s electricity consumption in the first half, up from 55.8% for the same period last year, estimates by industry associations ZSW and BDEW showed in July.

Germany is looking to boost its solar and wind power generation sectors with ambitious goals and legislative changes to ease and streamline the permitting processes. Europe’s biggest economy has a target to install 10 gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity every year to have renewables account for 80% of its electricity generation in 2030.

While Germany makes progress in its renewable energy capacity additions, some wind and solar energy developers and operators have filed for insolvency in recent weeks amid piling debts.

The capacity increase has outpaced the upgrades and expansions of the grids, which have delayed the connection of some solar and wind power projects to the grid. Additionally, the curtailment of wind and solar output when generation soars forces the electricity generators to reduce renewable energy generation, leading to losses for the wind farm and solar park operators. Spiking renewable power generation also often leads to below-zero day-to-day prices, further weighing on the economics of the projects.

And some developers have struggled to survive.

Just last week, Enerparc AG, one of Europe’s largest solar park operators, filed for insolvency in a Hamburg court. Operations will continue at Enerparc’s solar sites while the provisional insolvency administrators work “to stabilize business operations and the group companies,” the solar developer said.

Enerparc has 5.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity—3.8 GW of which are connected to the grid—and more than 500 solar parks, making it one of Europe’s largest independent solar park owners.

Earlier this summer, German solar and wind developer SoWiTec announced insolvency due to excessive debt.

The worsening project economics could lead to more insolvencies in the near term, Jens Burchardt, co-founder of Boston Consulting Group’s Center for Climate and Sustainability, told Bloomberg.

“Efficient, diversified developers will still make money, just not the kind of money they made during the energy-crisis years,” Burchardt noted.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

14/09/2026

THIS IS WHY WE SHOULD NOT BE PUTTING SOLAR ON FOOD-PRODUCING LAND! https://www.farminguk.com/news/uk-food-self-sufficiency-falls-in-10-of-11-everyday-staples_69107.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawUUvJ9wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTZ3eE56T2l0QUFOZFZReDdzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeCok4-7-vHvbvtOBP6lenm_RCI-6QfG3UZgPld9pWAJWApdZM1-Y90_AehCY_aem_GUhWZIRZZ13u3biB7xPVQQ

Britain is becoming increasingly reliant on imported food, with self-sufficiency falling across 10 of 11 everyday staples over the past 30 years.

12/09/2026

Even 9 year old’s realise what Solar will do to our countryside! This is a local girl who has grown up surrounded by green fields and crops.

12/09/2026

An interesting read……

What happens when a council pours hundreds of millions of pounds into solar investments — and the whole structure collapses?

Thurrock Council invested around £655 million in Toucan Energy. Toucan later entered administration. According to Thurrock’s latest public figures, around £525 million has so far been recovered, leaving roughly £130 million still unrecovered, although the council says further recoveries may yet be made.

Then came the extraordinary second act.

Toucan’s portfolio of 53 operating solar farms was sold for around £700 million — and among the major investors backing the acquiring fund structure were six Local Government Pension Scheme funds.

So public-sector money helped finance the solar empire on the way in.

After its collapse, public-sector pension capital helped finance ownership of the same solar assets on the way out.

Meanwhile the solar farms remained in place, the investment managers continued to earn fees and returns were still expected from the assets.

This is why we need to follow the money behind Net Zero.

The council worker pays into a pension. The pension fund invests in infrastructure. The infrastructure fund owns renewable assets. Landowners receive rent. Investors seek returns. The same worker then goes home and pays an electricity bill.

And in Thurrock’s case, local taxpayers were left dealing with the consequences of one of the biggest local-authority investment disasters in modern Britain.

Your Pension, Their Solar Farm

Read the full investigation:
http://hopetosaveourcountryside.com/2026/09/07/your-pension-their-solar-farm/