Large-scale solar developer Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP) has submitted a development consent (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate for an 840MW solar project in Oxfordshire.
Due to the capacity of the proposals, the project is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). The grid connection agreement, which will see 870MW supplied to the National Grid, predicts the project will come online in autumn 2027.
The development represents an £800 million investment by PVDP in Oxfordshire. When the project was first proposed in November 2022, it was estimated that the DCO would be submitted in late 2023. If approved, the Botley West solar power station would be the largest in the UK.
The Germany-based company, which has a substantial pipeline in Japan but currently has no other UK projects planned, held the second phase of consultations until late 2023 until February 2024. In March it received the response suggesting further revisions to the plans. site design and layout. The council said that while the changes could reduce the size of the project, they would help minimize the scale and significance of the impacts on a sensitive environment.
The proposed development site covers an area of 1,300 hectares, and the proposed area of installed panels (excluding internal roads and support areas) is approximately 890 hectares. This is a reduction in the total site area compared to the first consultation (which ran in 2022), which covered a total area of 1,400 hectares with 1,000 hectares of panels and other forms of infrastructure.
The plans now include a ‘landscape and ecology master plan’ and promise to achieve a net biodiversity gain of at least 70%.
PVDP has also confirmed that it has established a grid connection to the National Grid to supply 840MW of energy to the grid, which would be generated at three sites, only one of which falls under the jurisdiction of West Oxfordshire District Council.
The other two are in the Cherwell District Council and Vale of White Horse District Council regions.
The Secretary of Energy approves solar NSIPs
The DCO decision is expected in late 2025 or early 2026 – given the position taken so far by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in approving Britain’s largest solar farm with a capacity of 600 MW in September.
Late last week (November 14), solar developer Green Nation announced plans to develop a solar and storage project. The developer confirmed that it has a grid connection agreement for 750 MW, but the size of the storage element has not yet been confirmed.
Green Nation aims to submit its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the UK government in spring 2026, following two rounds of public consultations. If this timeline is met, a decision from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is expected in the summer of 2027.
Consultations for NSIPs from Recurrent and Windel, Island Green, Cubico Sustainable Investments and Low Carbon are all currently underway; The British government is targeting an operational solar capacity of 40 GW by 2030.
