Planning permission for 23 solar farms has been refused across Scotland, England and Wales over the last 18 months.

According to EDF Energy figures, the refused projects could have produced enough renewable energy to power an estimated 147,000 homes annually, and included three Scottish sites – Sheirdrim Renewable Energy Development, Uphall Park Development and Grange Of Berryhill, which were worth over 70MWs combined.

Planning refusals have jumped significantly since the start of 2021, as research by planning and development consultancy Turley found that only four projects were refused planning permission during 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 combined.

Read more: Scotland becoming a solar energy hot spot for developers

The analysis follows Liz Truss’ controversial plan to crack down on solar farms, in which she called the sight of solar panels in fields ‘depressing’, despite the ongoing climate and energy crisis, and household energy bills rising to an average of £4426 by April 2023.

Turley’s analysis found that the South West and Eastern England had the highest number of refusals for planning permission, with four projects turned down each. Wales, the West Midlands and Scotland had three refusals, while the East Midlands, North East and South East had two planning applications turned down.