Labour’s energy secretary Ed Miliband has angered farmers, human rights campaigners, and local residents alike by approving the UK’s largest solar farm to date.
The Tillbridge Solar Farm will cover around 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) of mostly agricultural land in Lincolnshire—that’s the size of about 1,700 football pitches. However, many have criticised the project, saying it endangers food security and relies on supply chains tainted by slave labour.
We reported earlier this year on research that suggests as much as 97% of the global supply of photovoltaic (PV) panels, which make solar energy, may contain components made by forced labour. Indeed, one component of PV panels in particular, polysilicon, is produced in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which is notorious for forced labour.
MPs have also accused Canadian Solar, which owns a company taking part in this joint venture, of using slave labour, according to the Mail. Canadian Solar denies the claims. But Shadow Security Minister Alicia Kearns, of the Conservative Party, insisted that it is “deeply complicit in Uyghur slave labour use.”
They operate an acquire and flip model—mark my words, they will sell the approved solar plant to another company as soon as they can at obscene profits, leaving communities high and dry with no idea where they stand.
Critics have also expressed concerns about the farm’s impact on national food security, given its placement on agricultural land. Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Andrea Jenkyns of Reform UK described the move as “another stitch-up,” saying that “farmland should be for food.” The No Farmers, No Food campaign group added:
Solar panels shouldn’t be used on prime farmland. Instead, put them on brownfields, car parks, roofs and roads.
The scheme attracted local protests over the same concerns before its approval.
Yet the government moved forward with it anyway, which is further proof that Britain’s establishment parties remain wedded to the net zero agenda. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice warned developers not to invest in the solar farm, stressing that “nothing is off the table” in his party’s fight against the decision: “You have been notified.”
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
