Two Conservative MPs have spoken out against the government's decision to approve one of the largest solar farms in the country, according to BBC reporting. Stuart Andrew, who represents Daventry, and Sarah Bool, the MP for South Northamptonshire, criticised the Green Hill Solar Farm scheme after it was given the green light on Thursday.
The project will cover roughly 2,965 acres (1,200 hectares) of land south and west of Wellingborough, north of Northampton, and parts of Buckinghamshire, the BBC reported.
Why it matters
The approval touches on a wider argument in the UK over how to balance renewable energy targets against the protection of agricultural land. The government has framed solar expansion as central to energy security and lower bills, while local opponents argue that large-scale projects permanently alter rural landscapes and remove productive farmland from use.
The size of Green Hill Solar Farm meant the Planning Inspectorate handled the recommendations rather than local planning authorities. According to the BBC, the inspectorate's examination stage ran for more than five months, opening in October 2025 and closing in April.
MPs say farmland and landscape at risk
Speaking to Annabel Amos on BBC Northampton, Andrew said villages in his constituency would end up encircled by large solar installations. He said the landscape would change and that good arable land would be lost, the BBC reported.
Bool said in a statement that she was "incredibly disappointed" by the outcome and was "taking stock" of the decision, which she said would make versatile land unavailable for arable farming.
Both MPs represent constituencies in the affected area, and their objections echo concerns raised by local campaigners during the examination process.
Campaign group reacts
Juliet Jarvis, from the Stop Green Hill Solar campaign group, told the BBC she was "pretty devastated" by the approval. She said the panels, which she compared in size to double decker buses, would surround Grendon and Easton Maudit and would cause disruption while construction is under way.
Jarvis said the solar farm would change the character of the Northamptonshire countryside once built. She called for brownfield sites to be used for solar panels before agricultural land is taken out of production, warning that rural communities could be harmed.
Her group's position reflects a common strand in opposition to large ground-mounted solar projects: a preference for previously developed land and rooftop installations over greenfield sites.
Government and developer defend the scheme
Labour peer Baroness Curran, a parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, defended the decision. She said solar power is essential for the country's energy security and for the financial security of communities, families and businesses, according to the BBC.
Curran said that generating more power domestically gives the UK control over its supply and represents an opportunity to grow the economy. She also linked the shift to efforts to address high energy bills, pointing to exposure to volatile global fossil fuel markets as an underlying cause.
Island Green Power, the company behind the development, welcomed the government's decision. Chief executive Bob Psaradellis said the outcome confirmed that the firm produces high-quality proposals for nationally significant infrastructure that will benefit Britain, the BBC reported.
Psaradellis said the advantages would reach communities through a local benefit fund and the wider country through additional secure, clean and cheap domestically produced power.
Scale and timeline
Green Hill Solar said the farm would deliver clean, secure and low-cost energy for Britain. According to the BBC, the scheme could generate 500 megawatts of electricity, enough to power around 200,000 homes.
The company said it hopes to start construction in 2027, with the aim of supplying electricity to homes by 2029.
Renewable energy expert Rhiannon De Wreede told the BBC she sympathised with campaigners but said large solar farms are needed alongside more rooftop panels. Her position reflects a view held by many in the sector that meeting renewable targets will require a mix of utility-scale and smaller installations rather than one approach alone.
The decision also highlights the role of the Planning Inspectorate in projects classified as nationally significant infrastructure. Because of the scheme's scale, recommendations came from the inspectorate rather than local authorities, a process that removes the final say from councils and places it with central government.
For residents in the villages named by campaigners, the practical questions now concern construction traffic, timelines and how the local benefit fund will be distributed. For the government, the case sits alongside a broader pipeline of similar applications, each likely to draw the same competing arguments about land use and energy supply.
Construction is targeted to begin in 2027, with electricity expected to reach homes by 2029, according to Island Green Power.
