WHO loves the sun?” Lou Reed once asked.

And after the former Velvet Underground singer’s death, it is a thought that anyone involved in the debate over solar panels may well ponder.

Solar farms – which soak up the rays of the sun to help bring us cleaner, less polluting power – are loved by some and hated by others.

They are needed in this country to help the UK meet its 15 per cent EU renewable energy targets by 2020.

And according to the Solar Trade Association, for every five megawatts installed, a solar farm will power 1,515 homes a year and save 2,150 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

But critics loathe them – and see them as a stain on the landscape.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England isn’t quite saying that today – but it is arguing that not enough thought is being given to where these farms are being planned.

It says the Government’s own guidance says the farms should only be built in suitable locations – by which the CPRE says they certainly don’t mean lush green rolling fields.

And for many, that point of view will be warmly welcomed. Others will say that if we reject solar power, we end up with something even worse.

So while we think about how we don’t really want these panels spoiling our views on country drives, we should probably also think about what a coal-fired power station might look like looming over the county’s unspoilt fields.