Miliband says he had no role in approving solar farm for donor Dale Vince’s firm
The Energy Secretary says he recused himself from the decision to rubber-stamp the Ecotricity project in Lincolnshire
Ed Miliband did not have any part in giving the green light to a solar farm linked to Labour Party donor Dale Vince, he has told MPs.
The Energy Secretary said he stepped back from whether to give the go-ahead to the project in Lincolnshire, which is being developed by Mr Vince’s Ecotricity.
He had been asked by Conservative shadow frontbencher Joy Morrissey whether he would refer himself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards over the decision.
The 524-hectare (1,295 acre) Heckington Fen site, on farmland between Sleaford and Boston in Lincolnshire, will generate 500 megawatts of energy once completed, the Government has said.
Consultation documents showed it could generate enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes. It was given Government approval in late January.
Ms Morrissey had said: “The Secretary of State recently approved a 524-hectare solar farm in Lincolnshire, a farm linked to Dale Vince, a £5.4 million donor to the Labour Party.
“The public have a right to be certain that this decision was carried out properly. So will (he) refer his conduct of this application to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, yes or no?”
Mr Miliband replied: “I’m glad (she) asked about this, because I took no part in this decision and recused myself from it.
“And here we go – you see, they’ve got nothing to say, they’ve got nothing to say about the country, desperate scraping of the barrel. And let the whole House hear it.
“They oppose a solar plan, they oppose a solar plant that will put up panels throughout the country and give clean power to the British people. The state of the Conservative Party is something to behold.”
The plans form part of the Government’s expansion of solar farms, which have accelerated the approval of projects since Labour came into power last year.
Weeks after entering Government, Mr Miliband’s department approved projects at Mallard Pass in Rutland and Lincolnshire, Gate Burton, also in Lincolnshire, and Sunnica in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said they would generate enough power for more than 400,000 homes.
Speaking on Tuesday, Ms Morrissey asked him whether rural land was suitable for new solar plants, and what communities who objected could do to stop them.
Mr Miliband replied: “It is quite extraordinary, because we are absolutely exposed as a country, and the party opposite opposes clean power. A blanket opposition to clean power.
“So let every person throughout the country know that when energy bills remain high, they (the Tories) are opposing the things that will bring them down.”
