Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what area of Grade 1, 2 and 3a agricultural land in Suffolk has been used for ground-mounted solar development since 2019; and if he will take steps to ensure future solar consents in that county prioritise lower-grade land.

Data on the area of land occupied by solar projects is contained in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). The Government does not currently categorise the data based on agricultural land type. However, work is underway to expand the REPD to include this feature.

Planning guidance makes clear that, wherever possible, developers should utilise brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land. Where the development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred to higher-quality land.