Solar Panels on Farmland: Land Use, Planning and Your Options

Updated 8 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial

This page is part of our wider guide to solar panels for agriculture, and it answers the question landowners most often ask before talking to anyone: should solar go on my farmland, and if so, how? It sets out how much UK farmland solar actually uses, how planning policy treats your best fields, the three realistic options on a farm, and what each one means for food production, income, tax and planning. It is written by an independent publisher, not an installer or a developer, and every figure is sourced in the list at the end of the page.

How much UK farmland does solar actually use?

Less than the headlines suggest, but more than it used to. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) estimated that at the end of September 2024 ground-mounted solar covered about 21,200 hectares (52,000 acres), around 0.1% of the UK's total land area. That estimate excludes rooftop panels.

The government's direction of travel is upward. The Clean Power Action Plan seeks 45–47GW of solar by 2030, up from just over 18GW when the UK Solar Roadmap was published in June 2025. The Roadmap estimates this would need up to 0.4% of total UK land. A DESNZ freedom-of-information response in December 2025 added that, even if all new capacity in the high current-policy scenario were ground-mounted, it would take no more than 0.6% of the UK's utilised agricultural land by 2030 (against a baseline of 16.8 million hectares).

Defra's Land Use Framework for England, published in March 2026, looks further ahead. It projects land used for solar and onshore wind at about 129,000 hectares by 2035 and 155,000 hectares by 2050, roughly 1% of England's land or 2% of its utilised agricultural area, and notes that some of that land will stay in food production through grazing.

Measure	Figure	Source
Ground-mount solar today (Sept 2024)	21,200 ha, about 0.1% of UK land	DESNZ Energy Trends, Dec 2024
Land needed for 45–47GW by 2030	Up to 0.4% of UK land	UK Solar Roadmap, June 2025
Worst case on farmland by 2030	No more than 0.6% of UK utilised agricultural land	DESNZ FOI, Dec 2025
Solar and wind in England, 2035 / 2050	129,000 ha / 155,000 ha (about 2% of farmed area)	Land Use Framework, March 2026

The national share is small, but locally it can be large. CPRE's July 2025 analysis of 38 operational solar farms over 30MW in England found 59% sat on productive farmland and almost a third (31%) of the area they covered was best and most versatile land, including 827 hectares of grades 1 to 3a. Both points can be true at once: solar is a small slice of national farmland, and individual schemes can still take good fields out of cropping for decades. That is why the grade of your land matters so much.

How much land a solar array needs per megawatt

DESNZ measured a median of 2.25 hectares (5.6 acres) per MW across 872 existing ground-mount sites, and estimates 1.6–2 hectares (4–5 acres) per MW for new schemes built with current, more efficient panels. So a 10MW array on modern kit would occupy very roughly 16–20 hectares (40–50 acres), including the gaps between rows, access tracks and the fenced margin. This is the most useful number to have in your head when a developer's land agent calls about a field.

Best and most versatile land: ALC grades and why they matter

England grades farmland from 1 (excellent) to 5 (very poor) under the Agricultural Land Classification. The National Planning Policy Framework defines best and most versatile (BMV) land as grades 1, 2 and 3a. Grade 3b, 4 and 5 land is not BMV, which is why developers typically look for it first. For a deeper walk-through of grading and surveys, read our guide to agricultural land classification and solar.

How planning policy treats BMV land

NPPF policy N2 (August 2026 framework) says development proposals should take into account the quality of agricultural land, including BMV land and its grade, and where significant development of agricultural land is necessary, use poorer quality land where possible.
NPPF policy W3 says decision-makers should give substantial weight to the energy security, economic and net zero benefits of renewable energy, that applicants should not have to demonstrate need, and that time-limited schemes should come with decommissioning and restoration proposals.
The 15 May 2024 written ministerial statement on solar and BMV land is listed in the August 2026 NPPF as incorporated or superseded, so the Framework itself is now the reference point.
Planning Practice Guidance asks councils to check whether poorer quality land has been used in preference to higher quality land, and whether the scheme allows continued agricultural use or biodiversity improvements around the arrays.
The Solar Roadmap states that a developer proposing to use any BMV land must justify it and design the project to avoid, mitigate and where necessary compensate for impacts.
Councils must consult Natural England where a proposal not in line with the development plan would lead to the loss (or likely cumulative loss) of 20 hectares or more of BMV land.

In practice: BMV land is not banned, but a ground-mount scheme on grade 1, 2 or 3a fields carries a heavier burden of justification and a higher chance of objection. Grade 3b and below is the easier planning case.

Finding out what grade your land is

Defra published a new Predictive ALC map for England in April 2026, replacing the old Provisional map and, for the first time at national scale, splitting grade 3 into 3a and 3b. It is a strategic map at 1:250,000 scale and is not accurate enough to grade an individual field. Post-1988 detailed survey data is viewable on the MAGIC map, but coverage is patchy. For a planning application, expect a field survey by a soil scientist using boreholes and inspection pits; the result often differs from the national maps.

The three options on a farm

When people say "solar on farmland" they usually mean one of three quite different things. They differ on who owns the kit, who carries the risk, and whether any field leaves production at all.

1. Panels on farm buildings

Roof-mounted solar on sheds, stores and workshops uses no farmland. In England it is permitted development under Part 14 Class J of the General Permitted Development Order, with no capacity cap since 21 December 2023; systems over 50kW need prior approval from the council on design and appearance, and listed buildings are excluded. You own the system, use the electricity on site and can sell surplus under the Smart Export Guarantee. Ask any installer to check the roof structure and to confirm there is no asbestos-cement sheeting before quoting. We cover building-mounted systems elsewhere; compare ground-mount and rooftop solar on farms if you have both options.

2. Owning a ground-mounted array

A ground-mounted array in a field you own, sized mainly to supply the farm and export the surplus. You pay for it, you keep the savings and export income, and the land stays in your occupation. Treat it as needing full planning permission. Almost every farm-scale system also needs a G99 application to the distribution network operator before installation, and the cost of the grid connection can decide whether the project works. Our cost guide and savings calculator help you test the numbers before you speak to anyone.

3. Leasing land to a developer

A developer rents the land, builds and runs a commercial solar farm, and pays you rent. You invest nothing but give up the use of the fields for decades. Developers generally sign an option agreement first, which Trowers & Hamlins notes can run anywhere from 1 to 10 years while they secure planning and a grid connection, before the lease itself. Our solar farm land lease guide goes through heads of terms clause by clause.

What each option means for food, income, tax and planning

	Panels on buildings	Owning a ground-mount array	Leasing land to a developer
Food production	No land lost	Field area lost to cropping; sheep grazing often possible	Fields out of your hands for the lease term; grazing only if the lease allows it
Income	Lower electricity bills plus SEG export payments	Bill savings plus SEG or a private power purchase agreement	Index-linked rent, sometimes with a revenue-share top-up
Capital outlay	Yours	Yours, including grid connection	None; the developer pays
Tax	Special-rate plant; Annual Investment Allowance can give 100% relief in year one up to £1m; standard-rate VAT, recoverable if VAT-registered	Same as buildings	Rent is taxable income; agricultural property relief is likely lost on leased land
Planning	Usually permitted development (prior approval over 50kW)	Planning permission from the council	Developer applies; council decides up to 100MW, national consent above
Grid	G99 for almost all farm-sized systems	G99; connection cost can be decisive	Developer's problem, but substation distance decides whether you get an offer at all

Income from owning panels

Electricity suppliers with 150,000 or more customers must offer a Smart Export Guarantee tariff for eligible systems up to 5MW, and the rate must always be above zero. Export rates vary between suppliers, so compare them; on most farms the bulk of the value comes from electricity used on site rather than exported. No capital grant for farm solar is open in England at the time of writing (the Improving Farm Productivity round 2 solar theme, worth £15,000 to £100,000 per grant, closed to full applications on 31 July 2025). See grants and funding for the current position and how capital allowances work.

Income from leasing land

Rents are negotiated, not published, so treat any figure as a guide. Law firm Stephens Scown (2023) has quoted subsidy-free solar rents of roughly £850 to £1,100 per acre per year depending on site size and location, with revenue-share top-ups of around 4–6% of the developer's income on some schemes. A developer interviewed by Farmers Weekly in June 2024 said about £1,000 an acre was a fair guide, and that leases that were once 25 years now typically run to 40. Rent is usually index-linked.

Illustrative example, not a real project: a landowner leasing 40 acres (about 16 hectares, enough for very roughly an 8–10MW array at 4–5 acres per MW) at the quoted £850–£1,100 per acre would receive about £34,000–£44,000 a year in rent before tax and before any revenue share. Grid availability, irradiance and planning risk move real offers either side of that.

Tax: the inheritance tax trade-off

Agricultural property relief depends on land being occupied for agriculture. Savills has explained that letting land for solar means it is no longer used for agricultural purposes, so APR is lost, and the lease is likely to make the land an investment asset outside business property relief, unless the wider estate qualifies as a trading business. From 6 April 2026, 100% APR and BPR only applies to the first £2.5 million of combined qualifying property in an estate, with 50% relief above that; any unused allowance can pass to a surviving spouse or civil partner. That cap narrows the gap between farmed and leased land for larger estates, but it does not remove it. Take advice from an agricultural tax specialist before you sign an option, not after.

Grazing under the panels

Ground-mounted solar does not have to end food production on the field. The Solar Roadmap notes that many projects are designed for continued livestock grazing, and the Land Use Framework expects some renewables land to stay in food production, usually through sheep grazing. Higher, wider-spaced systems that allow cropping underneath are a separate and still-developing field; our agrivoltaics guide covers them, and our livestock farms page looks at the stock side. If grazing matters to you on a leased site, write the grazing rights and who pays for fencing and water into the heads of terms.

The planning picture in 2026

In England, who decides a ground-mount scheme depends on its size:

Up to 100MW: a normal planning application to your local planning authority. The threshold for solar in the national infrastructure regime rose from 50MW to 100MW on 31 December 2025 under the Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025, so schemes between 50MW and 100MW now go to the council too.
Over 100MW: a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, needing a development consent order examined by the Planning Inspectorate and decided by the Secretary of State.
Environmental impact assessment: there is no fixed megawatt trigger; larger schemes may need EIA screening by the planning authority.
Restoration: PPG describes solar farms as normally temporary structures, and councils can use conditions to require removal and restoration when they are no longer in use. NPPF policy W3 expects decommissioning and restoration proposals with time-limited applications.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own planning and consenting regimes with different thresholds, so check with your council before relying on the English rules.

A landowner's decision checklist

What grade is the land? Check the Predictive ALC map and MAGIC, and assume a field survey will be needed. Grade 3b or poorer is a much easier planning case than BMV land.
Do you want the energy or the rent? Buildings or an owned array make sense if the farm uses a lot of daytime electricity; read whether solar is worth it on a farm. A lease suits land that earns little and a landowner who wants no capital at risk.
Can you spare the field for 40 years? Think about succession, tenancies, rotations and any environmental agreements on the land.
How close is grid capacity? Ask the distribution network operator or an installer for a connection view before spending on designs.
What does it do to your inheritance tax position? Model APR and BPR with your adviser, including the £2.5m allowance from April 2026.
Who restores the land, and is that secured? On a lease, insist on decommissioning obligations backed by a bond or similar security.
Is the roof a better first step? Building-mounted panels use no land and usually avoid a planning application. Arable and mixed holdings are covered on our arable farms page.

Next steps

Compare the numbers in our cost guide and savings calculator, then read the land lease guide if a developer has approached you. If you want quotes for panels on your buildings or an owned array, send an enquiry through the form below; SEO Dons passes it to an installer covering your area, who will review your usage, look at the site and quote. For a lease offer, take independent land-agent and legal advice before signing anything.

Frequently asked questions

Can land go back to farming after a solar farm?

Planning Practice Guidance describes solar farms as normally temporary structures, and councils can attach conditions requiring the panels to be removed and the land restored when they are no longer in use. The national planning framework also expects time-limited schemes to come with decommissioning and restoration proposals. On a lease, make sure restoration is a clear obligation backed by financial security, not left to goodwill.

Does a solar lease change what my land is worth?

It can. An accountant quoted by Farmers Weekly in 2024 put land let for solar at around £25,000 an acre against roughly £10,000 for agricultural land, because the rent stream is valued as an investment. A higher value with less inheritance tax relief can mean a bigger tax bill on death or on a gift, so have the land valued and the tax modelled before signing.

Is grade 3b land classed as best and most versatile?

No. Best and most versatile land is grades 1, 2 and 3a only, so grade 3b, 4 and 5 land faces a lighter planning test. The national maps cannot reliably grade a single field, which is why a soil survey is usually commissioned for a planning application.

Do I need planning permission for solar panels on a farm shed roof?

Usually not in England. Roof-mounted solar on non-domestic buildings is permitted development under Part 14 Class J with no capacity cap since December 2023, but installations above microgeneration size (over 50kW) need prior approval from the council on design and appearance, including glare, and listed buildings are excluded. Ground-mounted arrays in fields should be treated as needing full planning permission.

How close to a substation does land need to be for a solar lease?

There is no fixed distance, but grid access is the deciding factor for developers. Farmers Weekly reported that proximity to a substation is the most important factor, and a developer it quoted said some will run cables eight to ten miles for larger projects. Land with no nearby grid capacity is unlikely to attract an offer however good the field.

Sources

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