Brighter Outlook for Solar Energy Work as Planners Approve New Projects
Glenigan reports that a more supportive planning stance towards solar farms is creating a growing pipeline of construction work.
Solar is central to the Government's net zero plans, with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero aiming to increase Britain's solar capacity from around 17 gigawatts to 45 to 47 gigawatts by 2030. Glenigan's Construction Industry Forecast 2025-2026 identifies solar PV as a key contributor to a predicted 5% rise in underlying civil engineering starts this year and a further 7% in 2026.
Recent and pending schemes include:
• Appletree Solar Farm near Halesworth, Suffolk: a £10 million, 103-acre, 27 MW scheme by Pathfinder Clean Energy with 23 battery storage units, recommended for approval despite hundreds of objections • EcoPower's proposed 1,500-acre energy and battery storage farm at Eye, Suffolk, which would be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) able to power 75,000 homes • The £500 million Kingsway Solar Farm in south Cambridgeshire, another NSIP, where work could begin in 2027 • Sunnica's £600 million, 2,500-acre scheme on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border, approved last summer despite strong opposition and due to start this spring, powering 172,000 homes and creating 1,500 construction jobs • Pathfinder's £10 million Attleborough Solar Farm on a 38-hectare site in south Norfolk, due to start this year • The £25 million Meridian Solar Farm at Royston, Hertfordshire, for Quintas Cleantech, which could start early next year
The public sector is also investing. Lancaster Council is inviting tenders for the £10 million Burrow Beck Solar Farm, due to start this spring, while smaller schemes such as the £1 million Deepmore Lane Solar Farm in Wolverhampton, starting this summer, also offer opportunities.
