Renewable energy developer Low Carbon has announced plans for a 500MW solar and energy storage project in Kent.
The company announced yesterday (November 13) that it is in the early stages of developing the South Kent Energy Park project proposals and has begun the first phase of community outreach. The early engagement with the local community near the village of Old Romney will run from November 12 to December 20, 2024, with local people invited to share their feedback online and at in-person events during this period.
Due to its size, the 500MW project is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). This means the application for a development permit must be sent to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) before being approved by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Low Carbon states that they expect to submit their application by the end of 2026; If approval is granted, the company expects to begin construction in 2029.
The project will combine 500 MW of solar generation capacity with a battery energy storage system (BESS), although the BESS capacity has not been disclosed.
James Hartley-Bond, project development director at Low Carbon, said: “With the delivery of South Kent Energy Park, we want to give the local community the opportunity to work with us and shape the project from an early stage of the design process.
“In addition to data from our ongoing environmental studies, we will use the feedback we receive to inform the design of the project. We develop our projects responsibly, and listening to the community is an integral part of that process.”
Low Carbon has a strong 2024
Low Carbon has performed well in 2024, with several key wins that have boosted the company’s profile.
Low Carbon secured 180 MW of solar capacity during the recent Contracts for Difference (CfD) (AR6) auction round. This CfD auction round saw record success for the solar industry, with 93 ground-based solar projects with a combined capacity of 3.3 GW securing support in the auction.
The company was one of three developers awarded a Development Consent Order (DCO) as part of Energy Minister Ed Miliband’s DCO awards ceremony in July. A DCO was granted for the 500MW Gate Burton Energy Park project in Lincolnshire, in addition to Windel Energy and Canadian Solar’s 350MW Mallard Pass project and Sunnica’s 500MW solar plus storage development on the border of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
At the beginning of October, Low Carbon announced that it had successfully completed four large-scale solar energy projects in the United Kingdom, with a combined capacity of 133 MW. These projects include the 49.9 MW Layer Solar Farm in Essex, the 23 MW Crouch Solar Farm near Basildon, Braintree’s 35 MW Links Solar Farm and the 25 MW Maldon Wycke Solar Farm.
