Ed Miliband accused of targeting farmland to build solar panels

Ed Miliband has been accused of targeting farmland in Conservative constituencies to fuel a major expansion of solar energy.

Tory MPs said the Energy Secretary’s plans to install tens of millions of solar panels across Britain was putting the nation’s food security at risk.

Academics warned the Government’s claims that only a minimal amount of farmland was being lost to solar were misleading.

A report by SolarQ, which analyses the impact of solar developments on the countryside, said the figure quoted by Mr Miliband’s Energy and Net Zero department that solar occupied just 0.1pc of UK land area was “wrong”.

David Rogers, emeritus professor of ecology at Oxford University, who founded SolarQ, added: “Currently the correct figure is nearer 0.44pc (assuming all those planned are carried to completion).

“The figure for England rises to 0.75pc, well over seven times the industry-quoted figure.”

Desnz’s estimates are based on a comparison with the entire UK land area including Scotland, where solar developments are minimal.