Minister must stop solar parks

A Minister of Spatial Planning should prevent large solar parks from being built on valuable agricultural land. The Board of Government Advisers is therefore arguing for a new minister with its own mandate and budget.

According to the advisers of the central government, direction in the spatial development of the landscape is urgently needed. Otherwise it will be 'one big sprinkle', warns Berno Strootman this week in the Volkskrant. Strootman is 1 of the 3 government advisers who provide the government with advice on spatial quality. Monday 23 November they presented their advice 'A Minister of Space'.

An urgent theme for Strootman and his colleagues is the impact of the energy transition. In addition, solar parks are an eyesore for them. In the advisory report they are labeled as 'a form of industrialization of the rural area'. The SDE+ scheme subsidizes the generation of renewable electricity at the lowest possible cost. As a result, large solar parks are being constructed on meadows. An example of a sectoral approach that has negative effects on other policy areas.

Not sacrificing farmland
"The solar parks not only have a major negative impact on our cultural landscape: according to the government advisers, "it is also bad for the soil and biodiversity. Moreover, the transition to circular agriculture requires more space in connection with extensification. An important argument for not withdrawing agricultural land from this production. Sun on land drives up land prices, which is disadvantageous for (young) farmers who want to contribute to the switch to circular agriculture."

However, the SDE subsidy scheme of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate ensures that developers can earn good money with solar parks. Strootman: "A farmer who cooperates will yield €6.000 to €10.000 per hectare per year. You can't compete with that." Moreover those prices vary widelydepending on the location of a plot. According to Strootman, values ​​such as landscape and nature quality cannot be expressed in monetary terms, so they are not included in the cost assessment.

Integral consideration is necessary
The question should not only be how to make the Netherlands sustainable, but also how to keep the country beautiful and liveable. This requires a minister who is specifically responsible for this. Someone who is able to make an integral assessment. And Minister of Spatial Planning if it is up to the advisers. According to them, the National Environmental Vision presented this autumn is a good start, but not sufficient.

"Careful handling of the scarce space in the Netherlands requires a minister with a strong position vis-à-vis the sectoral ministries. And to be able to enforce integrality if necessary. The specialist ministers watch over the partial interests. Integration is necessary to achieve synergy, to to deal with the space and to save costs."

Ministry with connecting role
The advisers argue for a fully-fledged Ministry of Spatial Planning. This will play a connecting role and will link the strategy to the execution power. This is done in close collaboration with other policy departments and the implementing organisations. In order to feed and stimulate the ministry, a planning office should be set up that provides concrete policy advice based on design and imagination.

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

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