A legal challenge against the development of the 500MW Sunnica Energy Farm solar project has been dropped after two municipalities withdrew from the process.
As confirmed on Wednesday (August 21), West Suffolk Council and Cambridgeshire County Council withdrew from the process and as a result, Suffolk County Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council were also forced to abandon the legal challenge.
In a statement, Suffolk County Council said it had dropped the challenge due to the “cost of legal fees versus the likely financial return from a successful outcome”. The council emphasized that it is therefore no longer responsible to use public resources.
The Sunnica Energy Farm on the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border is considered a Nationally Important Infrastructure Project (NSIP) because its output is more than 50 MW. Readers of Solar energy portal will be aware that the newly elected Labor government recently outlined plans to increase the NSIP threshold for solar PV projects to 150 MW.
Projects are subject to various development processes as part of being an NSIP. For example, an NSIP must submit an application for a development permit (DCO), which the National Planning Inspectorate examines and recommends whether to approve or reject. The Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, has the final say.
Despite several delays under the Conservative government, Sunnica’s 500MW project was awarded a DCO last month (July 12), alongside other solar PV proposals, the 350MW Mallard Pass and 500MW Gate Burton solar projects.
Developer Sunnica Ltd is a joint venture (JV) between Tribus Energy and PS Renewables, both focused on developing UK projects of 50 MW or larger.
Councilor condemns ‘disgraceful decision’ by Labor government
Councilor Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s deputy cabinet member for NSIPs, expressed the council’s “deep disappointment” with West Suffolk Council and Cambridgeshire County Council for abandoning the legal process, stating that the decision to award was a “scandalous decision” by the government.
“The Sunnica solar farm was approved by the new government, against the recommendation of the independent Planning Inspectorate, which said it should be thrown out. By withdrawing from this challenge, the two councils have shown that they want to serve the interests of government over the interests of local communities and taxpayers,” Rout said.
“This is the worst scheme we have ever faced and the developer has so far shown no interest in properly covering our costs or working properly with local communities.”
Councilor Anna Bailey, leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, added that the council will “do everything we can to mitigate the impact of the Sunnica development, secure local benefits and assist residents”
Suffolk County Council added that the Secretary of State made a legal error but could not now test the case in court.
Cleve Hill NSIP successfully appeals against the council’s refusal for an energy storage system
Elsewhere in Britain, the Cleve Hill Solar Park, also known as Project Fortress, successfully appealed against Swale Council’s decision to refuse permission for the co-located 150MW battery energy storage system (BESS), as reported on 11 July.
The 373MW solar plus storage project, recognized as the first solar NSIP to commence construction and acquire a DCO, had the BESS element of the project rejected by Swale Council as residents feared the use of lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) batteries.
However, in a victory for large-scale solar farms, the decision was successfully appealed and the municipality’s behavior was judged to be unreasonable. As a result, the municipality had to pay the developer’s professional fees and the project could proceed.
