Public debate about solar farms often centres on a single fear: “they’re taking away farmland we need for food.”
It’s an understandable concern; food security matters, and land is finite. But when you look at the actual data, a very different picture emerges.
Solar farms use far less land than people imagine, they use very little prime agricultural land, and they produce orders of magnitude more energy per hectare than biofuel crops. Meanwhile, other land uses, including golf, quietly occupy far more space with no contribution to energy or food.
How much land do solar farms actually use?
The UK’s ground‑mounted solar farms occupy around 21,200 hectares of land (UK Government, DESNZ estimate).
To put that into context:
- The UK has 17.6 million hectares of land.
- Solar farms therefore use about 0.12% of the UK’s land area.
If UK land were a football pitch, solar farms would cover an area the size of the centre circle.
How much of that land is prime farmland?
The only detailed grade‑by‑grade mapping of solar farms comes from CPRE’s analysis of 38 large operational sites. They found:
| Grade | Meaning | Area used |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | Excellent | 45 ha |
| Grade 2 | Very good | 216 ha |
| Grade 3a | Good (BMV) | 566 ha |
| Grade 3b | Moderate | 755 ha |
| Total mapped | — | 2,582 ha |
Prime land (Grades 1 & 2): 261 ha (~10%)
Grade 1 (the very best land): just 45 ha (~2%)
Most solar farms are on Grade 3b, which is not Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land.
People repeatedly claim solar farms replace high quality farmland, without looking at the grades of land actually used. The data says most solar is on low value land, which would not be productive for food.
It’s also important to note that about 50% of land assigned to solar is also used for agricultural and grazing at the same time.
Solar Energy UK’s industry‑wide dataset reinforces this:
– Only 37.6% of solar farms include any BMV land
– And on those sites, only 20% of the area is BMV
Solar farms just don’t meaningfully compete with food production.
Half the solar farm land is also used for agricultural and grazing
What about biofuel crops?
Biofuel and bioenergy crops occupy 133,000 hectares of UK farmland (UK Government, Bioenergy Crops dataset); over six times more land than solar farms.
Unlike solar, biofuel crops must be grown on high‑quality arable land, typically Grades 1–3a, because yields collapse on poorer soils. Biofuel crops actively displace food crops.
So if the concern is “food vs energy”, biofuels are the real land‑use competitor, not solar.
Food security
Perhaps we shouldn’t measure this in terms of land area. A better measure could be the impact of turning solar farms or biofuel crops over to food production.
The UK imports 40-50% of its food, so there is an argument that we should do this to improve food security.
Reverting solar to food
DEFRA data shows only 7,000 ha of agricultural land has solar panels, and half of that remains in agricultural use (mostly grazing).
So the land actually displaced from food production is ~3,500 ha.
But crucially, most of this is Grade 3b, not prime land.
If converted to wheat, this land could feed ~0.1 million people. That’s just ~0.2% of UK food needs.
Because solar rarely occupies prime land, switching it back to food crops would have negligible impact on UK food imports or food security.
Revert all biofuel/bioenergy crops to food crops
Bioenergy crops occupy 133,000 ha; almost all of it prime arable land.
If converted to wheat, this land could feed ~4 million people. That’s ~6% of UK food needs. It’s also 40 times the impact of the solar change
Because biofuel crops occupy the UK’s best farmland, switching them back to food crops would have a real, measurable impact on food security and import dependence.
Anyone for golf?
Golf courses in Great Britain occupy ~118,000 hectares of land (Ordnance Survey, UK golf industry data); five to six times the land used by solar farms.
However, while the area of golf courses is impressively large, they are rarely on agricultural land.
Energy per hectare: the decisive factor
| Land use | Typical energy output |
|---|---|
| Solar PV | 0.8–1.2 GWh/ha·year |
| Biofuel crops (wheat ethanol) | ~20 MWh/ha·year |
| Biofuel crops (maize biogas) | 50–80 MWh/ha·year |
Solar delivers 10–40 times more useful energy per hectare than biofuel crops.
And unlike biofuels, solar farms can support sheep grazing, improve biodiversity, restore soil structure, and are fully reversible at end of life.
Are solar farms a threat to agriculture?
The answer appears to be a robust No.
- They use very little land overall.
- They use a shrinkingly small amount of prime farmland.
- They produce far more energy per hectare than any crop.
- They can coexist with grazing and biodiversity.
- They are fully reversible.
- They reduce reliance on fossil fuels and imported energy.
If the UK wants to maximise energy security while minimising land impact, solar is one of the most efficient tools available.
It’s also important to note that the decision to install solar is mostly by the farmers themselves. As shows like Clarkson’s Farm have shown, farmers struggle to earn enough from food crops to maintain viable businesses. They have been encouraged to diversify and partnering with investors to install solar farms is one of the ways they can ensure their farmlands do not have to be sold off to housing developers.
While most people would prefer to see fields of golden rippling corn instead of the scientific marvels that are modern solar panels, the reality is that they are a climate change necessity, an economic lifeline and have no meaningful impact on the nation’s food security whilst having an increasingly potent impact on energy security whilst preserving land for future generations.
References
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Land Use Estimate for Ground‑Mounted Solar PV.
- CPRE. Solar Farms: Agricultural Land Classification Analysis of 38 Large Sites.
- UK Government. Bioenergy Crops in the UK: 2008–2023.
- Ordnance Survey & UK Golf Industry Reports. Land Area of Golf Courses in Great Britain.
- Natural England. Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) Technical Guidance.
- BEIS & National Grid ESO. UK Solar Capacity Factors and Performance Data.
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