Local politicians have been focusing all their powers to clear obstacles to a major clean energy project.
Wokingham’s MP, Clive Jones, raised the issue in the House of Commons on Tuesday, February 10, after the government and electricity companies changed their timetable for connecting renewable schemes.
The Barkham Solar Farm project has been planned for council land in Wokingham Borough for over five years, but construction hasn’t started yet.
Approximately 43,000 solar panels are expected to be installed and the solar farm could generate in excess of 29 MWs (Megawatts) of electricity, producing some 28,563,000 kWh (Kilowatt Hours) of electricity per annum.
According to Wokingham Borough Council, this would cover the electric usage of more than 10,500 homes out of the Borough’s current 75,000 dwellings.
The farmland it surrounds Barkham Church and an ancient archaeological site with a moat, and is frequented by deer and other wildlife, which will lose access to the land when it is covered by solar panels.
Opposition members have said that the solar farm would only cover one per cent of the borough’s needs unless the energy produced when the sun is brightest could be stored locally in batteries until the evenings, when we really need it.
According to a representative of Wokingham Borough Council, construction of the power hub was due to start in spring 2026.
Under the original arrangements, an initial connection was contracted for 2027, followed by a full connection in 2028.
While the initial connection date remains in place, full connection is now scheduled for some time between 2031 and 2035.
During a debate on community energy, Wokingham’s MP Clive Jones, dressed in a light blue tailored suit, with a lemon-yellow tie and a lemon-yellow hanky, asked Ed Milliband about the solar farm.
He told the secretary of state that his Lib Dem colleagues and he had long campaigned for community energy.
He continued: “It’s not enough to have a plan to deliver local power projects in the future, when there are already projects around the country ready to go now, but which sadly have not been supported by the national grid.
“In Wokingham, the Barkham solar farm is ready to go, but the National Grid is not ready to hook it up to the grid.
“They have delayed it for too long and recently they’ve come up with another long delay.
“So what is the minister doing to fix this failure and get the Barkham solar farm hooked up to the grid to the benefit of the local community?
The Rt Hon. Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero replied:
“I do think the honorable gentleman makes a really really important point.
“One of the things we’ve done is a big overhaul of the ‘grid conversions’ queue which, as he knows, was the sort of wild west, really.
“A sort of chaotic, first-come first-served queueing system and NESO (National Energy System Operator) have done a big re-ordering of the queue.
“But one of the things we’ve got to do is put pressure on the transmission operators to make sure they actually deliver, so I would encourage him to write to my honourable friend the minister about the specific project and we will take it up with the national grid.
Clive Jones replied: “Thank you,” but his reply was not picked up by the House of Commons microphones.
A spokesperson for Wokingham Borough Council said that the lack of certainty over the grid connection and income from the electricity meant it wouldn’t be responsible for the council pay millions of pounds to start building the solar farm yet.
Following the debate, Clive Jones MP said: “The Government has let Wokingham residents down by delaying the connection of Barkham Solar Farm to the National Grid.
“I welcome the Secretary of State’s acknowledgement that this is an important issue, and that green energy projects must be delivered for the communities they are intended to serve.
“I will now be writing to the Minister so he is fully aware of the projects further delays and can support myself and Wokingham Borough Council in trying to ensure that Barkham Solar Farm is connected as soon as possible.”
