CPRW Responds to UK Government’s Solar Roadmap

Press Release
22nd July 2025

CPRW RESPONDS TO UK GOVERNMENT’S SOLAR ROADMAP: CALL FOR SMARTER, LANDSCAPE-SENSITIVE SOLAR DEPLOYMENT

The Welsh Countryside Charity, CPRW, has responded to the UK Government’s newly published Solar Roadmap with a call for more thoughtful, landscape-sensitive planning of solar developments—particularly in rural areas.

While CPRW supports the transition to renewable energy and acknowledges the government’s recognition of solar as a cost-effective component of the energy mix, the charity stresses that solar deployment must be aligned with local landscapes, agricultural land quality, and community needs.

Jonty Colchester, CPRW Chairman, said: “Wales can reach net zero and continue to be a major exporter of clean electricity simply through responsible use of offshore wind in the Irish and Celtic Seas. Solar will play a role in decarbonisation, but we must ensure that deployment follows a smart hierarchy—putting rooftops and brownfield first and protecting our best agricultural land and rural landscapes from unnecessary industrialisation.”

The UK Solar Roadmap lays out a framework for accelerating solar capacity across the UK. CPRW urges that as this policy is implemented, decision-makers should adhere to design principles that minimise environmental and community harm. CPRW’s solar policy proposes a clear hierarchy:

1. Mandatory integration into all new-build domestic, commercial, and industrial buildings through building standards.
2. Retrofitting onto existing buildings.
3. Solar parks to avoid Best and most Versatile land and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs); only to be sited on brownfield, low-quality agricultural, or marginal land.

Dr Jonathan Dean, CPRW Trustee, said: “The solar roadmap outlines measures to increase the amount of solar power we have from 18 GW installed capacity to 45-47 GW installed capacity by 2030.  That’s quite an increase! They show that if only the 20% largest warehouses were fitted with solar it would contribute 15 GW of the 29 GW increase required. And yet the roadmap plans to put the majority of the increase on farmland, the one place where there is most public opposition, mainly due to widespread landscape change!”

When solar parks are developed, CPRW emphasises community-first planning, landscape sensitivity, and ecological benefit. Developers should engage early with communities and elected representatives, use non-BMV and non SSSI land only, and design panel layouts to preserve grazing potential, biodiversity corridors, and scenic quality. Small-scale panel clusters, well-separated and screened with native tree species, can reduce the visual and environmental impact.

Dr Jonathan Dean, CPRW Trustee, added: “We don’t oppose solar—when done right. But the rush to deliver gigawatts must not come at the cost of our rural heritage or food-producing land. With the right policies and planning, solar can complement our countryside—not compromise it.”