| answer text |
<p>In publishing our new planning guidance in March, we took the opportunity to make
clear to local councils the factors they should consider in relation to solar farms.
These include making effective use of brownfield land and steering proposals away
from good quality agricultural land. We also underlined that visual impacts need particular
attention.</p><p> </p><p>To help focus these developments on brownfield sites, we
are consulting on increasing the amount of solar that can be installed on commercial
and industrial buildings without the need for a planning application.</p><p>This Department
does not gather statistics on the number of planning applications for solar energy
developments by land use type. However, the Department of Energy and Climate Change's
Renewable Energy Planning Database (RESTATS) includes information on a range of renewable
energy projects above 0.01 megawatts, including applications for solar energy developments.
The database tracks the progress of potential new projects from inception, through
planning, construction and operational stages, and can be accessed at:<br><br>https://restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/planning-database</p>
|
|
