UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has approved a 237.5 MW solar PV plant developed by BOOM Power.
The British developer will build the site in Fenwick, Doncaster. There are plans for a 237.5 MW ground-mounted PV power plant, along with a battery energy storage system (BESS). The BESS size has not been disclosed.
Fenwick Solar will be connected to the National Electricity Transmission System via the Thorpe Marsh Substation.
BOOM’s planning application was submitted on 1 November 2024. Due to the scale of the planned development, it is considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and thus required a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the Energy Secretary, as opposed to planning permission at Local Planning Authority (LPA) level.
The DCO process requires legal consultation; extensive engagement with local communities, landowners and stakeholders; and detailed investigation by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). In particular, the research phase of the process was completed faster than usual for BOOM, it takes less than the usual six months to complete.
Fenwick is the first solar NSIP to be authorized this year, and the 13e to be approved by Miliband.
It is the second DCO BOOM that the company has acquired in-house, after the East Pye solar power station in East Yorkshire, which agreed in May last year.
The core project team also worked at Wirsol Energy, a company founded by BOOM founder Mark Hogan in Britain and Australia before establishing BOOM Power. Wirsol Energy took the Cleve Hill Solar Power Stationthe first solar NSIP, via the DCO process.
