Reform UK’s leading representatives in Lincolnshire have publicly challenged the region’s green energy initiatives. Richard Tice, MP for Boston and Skegness, Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire Dame Andrea Jenkyns, and Councillor Sean Matthews opened a campaign protesting against the establishment of wind and solar farms, and battery storage sites. They voiced their concern at a news conference in Boston, claiming the net-zero strategies to be detrimental to not just the county but the nation as a whole.
The government, however, has defended these clean energy projects, stating they are crucial for future energy security. Labour MP Melanie Onn has expressed concern that Reform’s opposition could put at risk thousands of jobs in the region associated with these initiatives.
Significant infrastructural schemes, such as solar farms and a pylon corridor, are currently being planned between Grimsby and Walpole. These developments depend on approvals from ministers.
The LORE initiative (Lincolnshire Opposes Renewable Eyesores) aims to prevent these plans from going ahead. Dame Andrea Jenkyns evoked the county’s history, specifically referencing the Bomber Command. She vowed to defend the local landscape, underscoring Lincolnshire’s essential role as a national food supplier.
Contrarily, the government has suggested repurposing brownfield locations for solar energy installations, citing that even under the most ambitious projects, only 0.4% of UK land would be utilised by 2030.
Still, Jenkyns negated net-zero as a ‘con’, supporting oil and gas as the UK’s energy future. Melanie Onn on the other hand, representing Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, criticised Reform’s stance claiming the potential risk posed to roughly 12,500 jobs in Greater Lincolnshire connected to the green sector.
This edited article uses information from original reporting by www.bbc.com.
