Urgent action is required 'now more than ever' to tackle the UK’s energy shortages by boosting on-farm energy production, the Farmers’ Union of Wales has said.
The call has been made in the union's letter, sent to the UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and the Welsh Minister for Climate Change, Julie James.
During the previous decade, initiatives such as the Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) scheme were instrumental in increasing levels of UK renewable energy production, the FUW noted.
Renewable energy produced on farms across the country were 'central' to this improvement in the UK's energy security.
However, due to the scheme's closure in 2019, the risks of reliance on overseas energy were now more apparent than ever, the FUW warned.
It added that urgent action was needed on both a UK and national scale in order to rapidly increase on-farm renewable energy, in a way that does not compromise food production.
FUW President Glyn Roberts said: "Urgent action is needed at all levels of government to mitigate current and future impacts of our over-reliance on imported energy.
"For example, in terms of the restrictions placed on those farming in our national parks where sources of renewable energy abound but renewable energy initiatives are obstructed.
"Or in terms of UK-wide policies that genuinely incentivise and reward those who are contributing to reductions in carbon emissions through renewable energy production.”
Given such concerns, the FUW believes that barriers should be removed and initiatives enhanced in order to increase levels of renewable energy production on farms.
The union's members have highlighted that one of the barriers to such renewable energy production was the cost of connection of viable schemes to the national grid.
"The fact that such connection fees often appeared to at the best capitalise on, and at worst obstruct, such initiatives despite them being in the nations’ interests," Mr Roberts said.
