The British government has ambitious targets for solar energy generation in Britain.
Image: Des Blenkinsopp, Geograph Britain and Ireland, via Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-2.0
Two solar energy projects in England with a total capacity of almost 1 GW, plus co-located storage, have been given the green light by the British government.
Both projects have been granted development consent, meaning development can now proceed at the 480MW West Burton Solar Farm and Heckington Fen Solar Farm, with a reported capacity in the region of 500MW.
West Burton Solar Farm, located near the site of a former coal-fired power station, is expected to consist of a 480 MW solar power plant plus a co-located battery energy storage system (BESS). The project is being developed by Island Green Power, whose 600 MW Cottam Solar Project was granted development consent in September 2024.
Heckington Fen Solar Farm is being developed by Ecotricity as a solar plus storage project. The consent decision for Heckington Fen was postponed due to disagreement between the developer and local landowners over the cable route to the nearby Bicker Fen substation. In August 2024, project developer Ecotricity asked Secretary of State for Energy Ed Miliband to postpone his ruling to allow further negotiations with landowners.
A decision on West Burton Solar Farm was also delayed. A ruling was initially expected in November 2024. Documents published alongside the consent order show that the Planning Inspectorate, the investigating authority for major infrastructure projects in England and Wales, had recommended that the government withhold consent for the project in May 2024. The researcher proposed a project. developer Island Green Power is submitting an amendment to its application to mitigate the project’s impact on a nearby national heritage site.
The two approvals are the latest in a series of large-capacity solar projects that have received development consent since July 2024. Within two weeks of taking office, the new UK government signed off on three utility-scale projects totaling more than 1.3 GW of new installed capacity.
Speak with pv magazine Chris Hewett, CEO of Solar Energy UK, said at the time that he believed the new UK government “unequivocally” wants the industry to grow. The UK government has committed to having around 30 GW more solar capacity in the UK generation mix by 2030, as part of its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan unveiled on 13 December 2024.
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