UK households could collectively lose up to £5bn a year if a law blocking large-scale solar farms on productive agricultural land is passed, energy analysts have said.

Tabled as an amendment to the Energy Bill, the proposed legislation would stop projects over 500 acres in size from being built when at least 20 per cent is classified as “best and most versatile agricultural land”.

If approved, it would leave each UK household up to £180 a year worse off because the equivalent electricity would be produced by using more expensive gas instead, analysts from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said.