Beautiful Rutland: Another Sacrificial Lamb on the Altar of Net Zero

Rutland, England’s smallest county and one of its most beautiful, is being carved up in the name of Net Zero. Behind the promises of “cheap green power” lies a harder truth: thousands of acres of farmland lost, billions of pounds tied up, and still not enough secure energy to keep the lights on in Oakham, Stamford, or Uppingham.

The Scale of the Land Grab

Mallard Pass Solar Farm – 350 MW, over 2,100 acres spanning Rutland and South Kesteven. One of the largest in the UK, yet its power is routed straight into the Ryhall 400 kV substation and exported onto the national grid.

Pilton/Morcott (Bluestone Wing 1 Ltd) – 40 MW, nearly 90 hectares, and 87,723 panels. It mainly powers Anglian Water’s treatment works at Wing, with only a trickle exported to Oakham substation.

Welby/Pastures Farm – 46 MW + battery storage, with a connection towards Grantham.

Limes Farm, Bourne – 20 MW + battery storage, recently consented.

Church Lane, Welby – 24 MW, approved on appeal.

Ash Tree, Londonthorpe – 50 MW, refused but under appeal.That’s close to half a gigawatt of solar capacity in and around Rutland — more than 3,000 acres of productive farmland sacrificed for 40 years.

The Numbers Don’t Add Up

Capital costs: £300–£440 million sunk into intermittent solar arrays.

Lost farmland: ~£1.6 million per year in agricultural output, or ~£65 million over 40 years — gone.

Lifetime: 40 years of fencing, cabling, inverters, and fire-prone batteries left in place.Local demand: Rutland’s peak load is under 80 MW, but most of this power is exported out of the county.Put simply: Rutland hosts the pain, while the gain flows elsewhere.

The Grid Reality

All of this capacity doesn’t make Rutland energy secure.

Mallard Pass depends on major reinforcements at Ryhall 400 kV, already on National Grid’s stress list.

Pilton/Morcott feeds Wing WTW first, then a limited export into Oakham 33 kV, itself flagged for upgrades.

National Grid is now planning new pylons and substations across Lincolnshire and Leicestershire to shift power out — yet none of this will guarantee Rutland homes reliable winter supply.

So while local residents watch fields vanish, the electricity is whisked away, and the county is left with the disruption, not the benefit.

Another Sacrifice Zone

Like Doncaster, Rutland is being turned into a sacrifice zone for Net Zero ideology.

Farmers lose land.

Villages lose landscape and heritage.

The county loses food security And after 40 years, nothing is left but industrial scars.Meanwhile, Rutland’s own lights will still depend on imported gas and nuclear when the sun goes down.

What We Really Need

Britain doesn’t need more sacrificial solar fields.

We need:Small Modular Reactors built in the UK, giving secure baseload power.

Rooftop and commercial solar film (like Power Roll) that doesn’t eat farmland.

Targeted grid upgrades to secure local supply before adding speculative generation.

“Beautiful Rutland, England’s smallest county, is now the latest sacrificial lamb on the altar of Net Zero — billions spent, thousands of acres lost, and still not enough power to keep the lights on.”