12/06/2026
The Voice
# ⚡ Si Richardson Calls for an End to Net Zero NSIPs as 7 Million Solar Panels Planned for the Trent Valley. 👉 Panels could be used to power 700000 homes instead.
👉 Crisis - Land allocated to net zero in the Trent Valley hits 10%.
🇬🇧 Si Richardson, Councillor, campaigner and business leader, has criticised local leaders for promoting the Trent Valley as the "Silicon Valley of Clean Energy", arguing that Labour's Net Zero agenda is failing to put local residents first and risks sacrificing productive agricultural land without delivering meaningful reductions in household energy bills.
The comments come as plans progress for more than 7 million solar panels to be installed around the former power station sites at West Burton, High Marnham and Cottam.
Richardson has questioned whether local communities are receiving a fair deal from the scale of development being proposed across the area and has called for an end to the use of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) to impose large-scale energy developments on rural communities.
🏠 According to estimates, 7 million solar panels could provide solar power for approximately 700,000 households – enough to cover virtually every home across Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
Installed on homes, these panels could save the average household around £400 per year on energy bills, directly benefiting families, pensioners and working people across the region.
Instead, Richardson argues that the current model concentrates the benefits in the hands of large energy companies and investment funds, while local communities are expected to accept the loss of valuable Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land, changing landscapes and major infrastructure developments.
He believes communities should not be forced to accept industrial-scale solar developments on productive farmland while household energy bills remain stubbornly high.
💬 "When local leaders celebrate the idea of the Trent Valley becoming the 'Silicon Valley of Clean Energy', they should also explain why families are still facing high energy bills and why the benefits appear to flow primarily to large energy companies rather than the communities hosting these developments.
"If 7 million solar panels can effectively power every home across Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, then we need to ask why household energy bills are not at the centre of this conversation."
Richardson is calling for:
✅ Scrapping Labour's costly Net Zero agenda
✅ An end to Net Zero NSIPs imposed on local communities
✅ Protection of food-producing agricultural land
✅ Greater use of rooftop solar, warehouses and industrial sites
✅ More community energy schemes with direct local benefits
✅ Lower energy bills for households by putting people before profits
✅ Energy security through the responsible use of domestic energy reserves in the North Sea
✅ A common-sense energy policy that prioritises affordability, security and economic growth
👉 Plus introduction of containment barriers for Battery storage schemes
Richardson argues that Britain needs an energy strategy based on affordability, energy security and democratic accountability, rather than policies that place increasing pressure on rural communities while offering little direct benefit in return.
"Local residents should be the first to benefit from energy infrastructure built in their communities. Britain should be using its own energy resources, protecting productive farmland and ensuring families see lower energy bills. That is the common-sense approach."
