UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has awarded planning consent to two large-scale solar farms in England totalling almost 900MW of capacity.
Approval has been given to Ecotricity’s 500MW Heckington Fen and Island Green Power’s 480MW West Burton projects, the latter subject to a design amendment that reduces its overall capacity by around 20%.
West Burton will be built across the Nottinghamshire-Lincolnshire border, connecting into the 400kV West Burton substation.
It was approved subject to the removal of a section of solar panels that would have been installed on land formerly used as a deer park at Stow Park.
The amendment is estimated to reduce the project’s total installed capacity by around 104MW, the developer said during the permit examination.
Miliband determined the project would still make a “substantial contribution to meeting the urgent need for utility scale solar PVs, and result in considerable carbon savings, supporting the trajectory to net zero”, according to the decision notice.
Heckington Fen is meanwhile cleared to be constructed across agricultural land near North Kesteven in Lincolnshire.
It will connect to the grid via underground cable into the 400kV Bicker Fen substation, where an October 2028 connection date is in hand, according to transmission registers.
Development Consent Order applications on both projects had been due to be determined last year but were afforded deadline extensions to allow the developers to resolve issues with external stakeholders.
Island Green Power chief executive Bob Psaradellis said: “This welcome decision is another important milestone towards the government’s ambition of tripling solar power and transitioning the UK to clean, home-grown, renewable energy.
“West Burton will provide lasting benefits to the local area including improvements to biodiversity, job creation to direct funding for important causes. It is a project that reflects our commitment to deliver renewable energy while creating lasting value for the communities we serve.”
Lanpro technical director Tara Chopra, who provided planning services to the West Burton application, added the decision is a “strong reflection of the current government’s commitment to renewable energy, and we are optimistic that it will lead to more favourable outcomes for our clients in the renewable sector”.