Fears Labour's push for Net Zero could endanger Britain's food security as Ed Miliband forces through Britain's biggest solar farm which would cover 2,800 acres of fertile farmland with energy panels

Fears are growing that Labour's push of Net Zero policies could endanger Britain's food security after Ed Miliband forced through approvals for a the country's biggest solar farm. 

The energy secretary approved the project for energy firm Sunnica to build a 2,792-acre solar farm and energy storage infrastructure facility in eastern England.

It's size is equivalent to 2,115 football pitches and it will be more than 12 times the size of Shotwick Solar Park in North Wales, the UK's largest such facility built to date. 

But MPs and campaigners are concerned that it will come at a huge sacrifice to large areas of arable farmland.  

One of Sir Keir Starmer's election pledges was to fast-track wind and solar power projects in order to reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels within six years.

With claims it will provide enough electricity to power 100,000 homes annually, the website promoting the 'Sunnica Energy Farm' promises it will help meet 'the urgent national need for new, renewable, means of energy generation'. 

But the concern is that it will lead to a drop in domestic agricultural production, and a reliance on more food imports and vulnerability to price fluctuations. 

Miliband defended his decision saying:  'Some of these cases had been held up for months before I arrived in the department. They were put on my desk on Monday, and I've made a decision in three days.

'This is the speed we're working at to achieve energy independence, cut bills for families and kick-start green economic growth. We will make tough decisions with ambition and urgency – all part of our plan to make the UK a clean energy superpower.'

Polling released earlier this week suggested the Tories leaked election votes to the left because of Rishi Sunak's watering down of green measures introduced by Boris Johnson.

Climate change was one of the top three reasons Labour and Lib Dem voters gave for supporting the parties on July 4, above housing and crime.

And the analysis by More in Common found that even those who viewed it as less important also linked increasing generation of renewable energy to reducing the cost of living, the biggest factor driving voting at the election.

And in a sign of how green the country is, more than 70 per cent of those polled backed Labour's plans for GB Energy, a state-run company designed to fund the move to green power.

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, also said this week: 'The onshore wind ban was in place for nine years, and this government has removed it in 72 hours.

'We are wasting no time in investing in the clean homegrown energy that our country needs to lower bills and make Britain energy independent.

'We welcome investors responding to this announcement by moving forward with plans to invest in Britain's clean energy future.'