Reform UK Launches Campaign Against Green Energy Projects in Lincolnshire

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Reform UK has launched a campaign opposing large green energy projects across Lincolnshire, declaring its intent to challenge the expansion of wind farms, solar farms, and battery storage facilities. The campaign, launched in Boston, underscores growing local resistance to the government’s net-zero targets, with party leaders calling the push for renewable infrastructure a threat to both food security and rural landscapes.

At a press conference earlier this week, Boston and Skegness Member of Parliament Richard Tice, Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns, and County Councillor Sean Matthews introduced their new initiative, named LORE (Lincolnshire Opposes Renewable Eyesores). Tice criticised current energy policies, stating, “It is an absolute outrage what the madness of net stupid zero is doing to our country, as well as to our economy.” The group’s message was clear: they intend to use “every lever available” to halt developments they say are harmful to local communities.

The campaign is a direct response to several proposed Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), including large-scale solar farms and a major pylon corridor stretching from Grimsby to Walpole in Norfolk. Under existing law, decisions on NSIPs fall under ministerial jurisdiction rather than local councils, raising concerns among residents and officials who feel sidelined in planning matters.

While the government maintains that renewable energy is essential to achieving long-term energy security, Reform UK leaders argue that the net-zero agenda has contributed to rising energy costs. Tice attributed high electricity prices to the “government’s obsession with renewables,” though the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated that volatile global gas markets, especially those influenced by regimes like Russia’s, are the primary driver of elevated household bills.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns drew a historical parallel, invoking Lincolnshire’s legacy during World War Two as the home of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command. “We are the breadbasket that feeds Britain,” she said. “Why would any government risk our food security for the sake of mass-scale solar farms?”

The government has countered such concerns by noting that solar projects are recommended for brownfield and lower-grade agricultural land and that, even under the most ambitious targets, solar infrastructure would use no more than 0.4% of UK land by 2030.

Nonetheless, Jenkyns rejected the premise of net-zero targets altogether, calling them “a con” and championing domestic oil and gas as the solution to the UK’s energy challenges. Referencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign slogan, she added, “Come 2029, it’ll be drill baby drill.”

However, not all local officials are on board.Labour Member of Parliament Melanie Onn, a former MP for Great Grimsby and now based in Cleethorpes, criticised the campaign, warning it could jeopardise approximately 12,500 green energy-related jobs in Greater Lincolnshire. She stated the stance taken by Reform UK was “completely at odds” with the responsibility of a directly elected mayor, who should be focused on boosting local economic growth.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero defended the government’s strategy, saying: “Families have seen their energy bills go through the roof due to our reliance on volatile gas markets controlled by dictators like Putin. Solar and an upgraded grid is central to our mission to become a clean energy superpower, delivering energy security so we can get bills down for good.”

As the national debate around energy policy intensifies, Lincolnshire is shaping up to be a key battleground between centralised net-zero ambitions and grassroots resistance from those who argue the cost to rural communities is too high.