Ed Miliband has approved the UK’s biggest solar farm, to be built in Lincolnshire, a county where Reform UK’s anti-renewables agenda has gained support. The Tillbridge solar farm near Gainsborough will generate enough electricity to power 300,000 homes.
The 700-megawatt project, covering over 1,200 hectares, is the ninth nationally significant solar project approved since Labour returned to power in July 2024. The government has now approved 17 such clean energy projects, enough for over 7.5 million homes.
Labour aims to make the UK a “clean energy superpower” by doubling onshore wind, tripling solar, and quadrupling offshore wind by 2030, creating a virtually carbon-free electricity system. The government claims this could cut household energy bills by up to £300 a year.
However, Reform UK’s anti-net zero stance has grown in Lincolnshire, where many large solar farms and transmission cables are planned. In the Commons, Miliband defended net zero policies against Conservative and Reform MPs’ concerns over job losses in fossil fuel industries and calls to repeal the 2050 net zero target.
Miliband argued that net zero is a growth opportunity, with the sector growing three times faster than the economy. At an industry conference, he warned that continuing with gas would leave the UK exposed to volatile prices and costlier projects, and undermine climate efforts.
