From farmland to solar farms: the impact of the UK’s energy transition

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Summary: The government's Strategic Spatial Energy Plan aims to reshape how energy infrastructure is planned and delivered across the UK. This article considers the commercial implications for developers and landowners, from investment opportunities and grid access to land rights, planning strategy and compulsory acquisition.  

As the UK accelerates towards its clean power and energy security objectives, a fundamental shift is underway in the way energy infrastructure is planned and delivered. At the centre of this transformation is the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), the top tier of a three-tier energy planning system being prepared by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to guide the development of the UK’s energy network out to 2050.  

What’s the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan? 

Delivering clean power isn’t simply a question of building more wind farms, solar parks and electricity networks. It also requires difficult decisions about what infrastructure the UK needs, where it should be located and when it must be delivered. The SSEP will set out a national framework for energy policy in the UK. It’s intended to provide strategic direction by identifying the location for energy generation and energy transmission infrastructure for the period between 2030 and 2050. 

The SSEP will sit at the top of a three-tier planning and delivery framework. Siting immediately below will be a suite of Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) which will set out the regional infrastructure requirements and priorities. At the lowest tier will be the Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs), which will identify potential energy projects and investment opportunities at a local level. The SSEP is due in 2027, the RESPs in 2028 and the LAEPs in the years following.  

Energy developers and landowners will immediately recognise that this combination of plans will affect site selection, land promotion, infrastructure delivery and planning strategy. In due course they’ll affect which schemes are approved through the planning process and, more crucially, which are deemed capable of being connected to an improved grid. Consequently, they should get involved in the inevitable consultations on each part of the framework. 

What does the SSEP mean for developers?  

New opportunities for renewable energy and infrastructure projects 

Currently, uncertainty around grid capacity and connection delays, balanced against the commercial attractiveness of private wire demand opportunities, are the biggest factors any energy project must consider. The SSEP seeks to reduce that uncertainty by setting out the electricity infrastructure the UK is expected to require between 2030 and 2050, including potential locations, capacities and timings. It’s a targeted grid improvement programme designed to remove these bottlenecks and deliver net-zero targets. 

For renewable energy and infrastructure developers, this could create valuable opportunities. Areas identified as having a future need for renewable generation, battery storage, substations or network reinforcement may become increasingly attractive for investment. While the SSEP won’t identify individual schemes, it has great potential to influence future development strategies. 

In this context, legal advice is likely to play an important role from the outset. As new grid connection opportunities arise, or perhaps are merely hinted at, there’ll be a rush to secure control of appropriate land through option agreements, together with negotiating easements and other land rights.  

Where there are gaps, advice on the future use of compulsory acquisition powers may be required. 

What does the SSEP mean for landowners?  

A growing demand for land 

For many farmers and rural landowners, the UK's transition to a low-carbon energy system is no longer a distant policy objective. It’s increasingly arriving at the farm gate, particularly in areas where there’s existing grid capacity and opportunity to harness solar or wind power.  

As the SSEP begins to take shape, providing further connection opportunities, more landowners are likely to find themselves fielding enquiries from renewable energy developers, utility companies and infrastructure providers seeking land for solar or wind farms, battery storage facilities and new electricity transmission routes. In many cases, these developers will exercise compulsory purchase powers, posing a real threat to how existing farm and estate land will be used in the future. 

Diversification opportunities for the agriculture sector 

For some, these approaches may present significant financial opportunities. Renewable energy projects can help to diversify rural businesses and reduce reliance on traditional agricultural revenues.  

However, a solar, battery storage or grid infrastructure project can tie up land for decades, and while financially attractive in the short term, those rights could later affect how neighbouring fields are farmed, developed or even sold.  

Landowners should also consider how energy projects fit within their broader estate objectives. A scheme that appears attractive today may have unforeseen consequences for future generations, whether by affecting succession planning, restricting future land uses or impacting the value of retained land.  

Why seeking early legal advice could make all the difference 

The consequences of the SSEP, RESPs and LAEPs are far reaching. Over time, they have the potential to influence planning decisions, infrastructure investment, land values, development strategies and property transactions.  

One of the challenges is that this regulatory landscape is still evolving. As the SSEP is developed alongside RESPs and LAEPs, new opportunities are likely to emerge, but so too are new constraints.  

This is where early legal advice can add real value. Rather than reacting to issues once they arise, developers and landowners who engage with advisers at an early stage are often better placed to identify opportunities and make informed decisions.  

Conclusion 

The energy transition is no longer a distant policy ambition; it’s beginning to reshape the planning and land-use landscape in real time. For developers and landowners, the question is not whether the SSEP will create change, but whether they’ll be prepared to take advantage of it. 

Rebecca Stanton is a senior associate, Josh Dunford is a first-seat trainee and Fergus Charlton is a partner at Michelmores LLP.