Residents object to a proposed solar farm near Hayle, fearing loss of farmland & landscape damage.
Cornwall is debating solar farms on farmland a lot. The council studied Grade 3 land last year. They want a good balance. They want food and renewable energy. A solar farm called Speedwell could get approved.
A councillor will bring it up next week. He worries about losing good farmland and fears harm to a farmhouse. Flooding and road access are issues too. A planner saw some positive points.
The planner argued the land isn’t top-quality farmland. They said farming could continue there. The proposed solar farm is temporary and reversible. Its renewable energy benefits outweigh problems, they felt. This is crucial during a climate emergency.
One person said solar panels harm the landscape. They prefer Small Modular Reactors. They called solar farms “absolute madness”. They believe in safe, efficient nuclear energy now. They think we jumped too fast to solar.
One person complained Cornwall is a solar farm dump. They feel unsupported by the UK government. They see no local benefit from the energy. Discarded panels will rot later, they worry. Foreign companies will profit, they fear.
Another person thinks the plan is excellent. They want more solar farms. Combining solar with nuclear will help us. This mix can make us energy independent.
Another person questioned daytime electricity. How can we charge electric cars overnight? They think it was not thought out thoroughly. Someone replied that solar is one piece. Wind and other renewables are also important.
Renewables are our biggest electricity source now. Someone supports energy storage. With it, daytime solar works at night. They used to dislike nuclear power. Now, they think it is needed. Solar, wind, nuclear, and some fossil fuel are useful.
Someone stated the grid demands are growing. They think we are aiming for unreliable energy. We imported lots of energy last year. Renewables make us pay twice. We pay for renewable energy itself, and we pay standby power stations too.
Someone further stated we pay to switch off wind turbines sometimes. They want energy and food security. Renewables do not help either one. Someone suggests others want solar farms. They think importing is okay if it is cheaper. This should extend to food and farming.
Farming makes a lot of greenhouse gases. UK food is expensive and subsidized. The land could be greener; it could avoid pesticides and carbon. Solar panels return land easily to farms. Someone wonders about CO2 reduction. They dislike importing, which increases CO2.
One person argues that we ignore increased CO2 because it is out of sight. We need local food production. We need reliable nuclear and gas power. “Renewable guff” increases CO2 overall. UK only counts direct emissions now, so we just shifted emissions elsewhere.