Government decision on huge solar farm in Oxfordshire delayed

Responding to the months-long postponement, Mark Owen Lloyd — from PVDP — said the developers “welcome the opportunity to continue engaging constructively with the government and other stakeholders”.

“We remain confident in the strength of our application, which has been developed following extensive consultation and detailed environmental and technical assessment,” he said.

He then reiterated that the project would deliver 840MW to the UK power grid and “represents a significant investment in clean, renewable energy infrastructure”.

Botley West is a proposed £800m solar farm covering about 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) across three areas — north of Woodstock, west of Kidlington and west of Botley.

Blenheim Estates owns 90% of the land within the earmarked site, which it will lease to PVDP.

Previously, the developer has said the farm would be able to power the equivalent of 330,000 homes.

The solar panels would remain on site for about 40 years before the fields are returned to agriculture, according to the Blenheim Estate.