'Timely decision making': Government green lights 1.3GW of new solar farms - BusinessGreen

'Timely decision making': Government green lights 1.3GW of new solar farms | BusinessGreen News

Low Carbon's St Columb solar farm in Cornwall | Credit: Low Carbon

Three major solar projects in east England receive development consent orders from Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, as Labour prepares plans for revamped solar strategy

The government has given the green light to three major solar projects in the East of England, collectively comprising more than 1.3GW of capacity, in a flurry of green energy planning decisions confirmed by the new Labour administration late last week.

The 500MW Gate Burton project in Lincolnshire, which is being developed by Low Carbon, and the 500MW Sunnica Energy Farm project on the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, both received formal approval from Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband late on Friday.

In addition, plans for the 350MW Mallard Pass solar farm, which is being developed on sites either side of the East Coast Mainline in Lincolnshire and Rutland, were also granted planning permission from the government.

The approvals marked the end of a busy first week in office for the new government, which also saw Miliband lift the 'de facto' ban on new onshore wind farms in England and confirm the appointment of former Climate Change Committee boss Chris Stark as head of a new 'Mission Control' tasked with delivering on Labour's target of a clean power system by 2030.

According to trade body Solar Energy UK, the three new solar farms boast planned capacity equivalent to roughly two-thirds of all ground-mounted and rooftop solar projects installed across the UK last year.

The group welcomed Labour's rapid decision to grant the development consent orders (DCOs), which the government is required to issue for larger proposed energy projects capable of exporting more than 50MW to the grid.

Chris Hewitt, chief executive of Solar Energy UK, said the DCOs marked a major step forward for efforts to decarbonise Britain's power suppliers, strengthen domestic energy security, push down household energy bills, and accelerate the transition to net zero.

"Solar Energy UK is delighted that the new Secretary of State has just approved three nationally significant solar farms, in his first week in office," he said. "This is just the kind of clear leadership that will increase investor confidence and show that Britain is serious about tackling the climate emergency with the urgency that is needed."

Solar Energy UK indicated the projects were just a several in a long line of solar projects in the development pipeline across the UK, many of which will now be hoping to secure a green light from government in the near future.

Mike Rutgers, managing director of UK development at Low Carbon, said the government's decision would enable the firm to progress to the construction phase of the Gate Burton Energy Park in Lincolnshire, which he said would create 350 jobs and provide "significant biodiversity net gain across the site".

"Timely decision-making is fundamental to the success of clean energy infrastructure and after months of political indecision on key projects this provides a clear signal to investors and the supply chain that the government is serious about giving priority to energy projects in the planning system," he said. "Once built, we estimate that the 500MW project will provide enough solar capacity to power approximately 160,000 homes with clean, secure electricity and play a key role supporting the Labour government's mission of delivering a net zero grid by 2030."

However, the news provided an early sign of the opposition Labour can expect as it looks to deliver planning reforms that would make it easier to build major new clean energy projects. Writing on social media platform X, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said she was "utterly appalled" that Miliband had approved the Mallard Pass Solar Plant for construction in her constituency, as she raised concerns over the human rights record of some Chinese solar panel manufacturers.

"This shows a complete disregard community consent, contempt for human rights, and a complete failure to understand food security is a national security issue," she said. "[Miliband] has today waved through three of these mass mega-solar projects, in so doing he has given a green light to every company complicit in Uyghur genocide seeking to make a profit off our agricultural land."

She added that she was considering pursuing a Judicial Review against the decision, arguing that "with 93 documents in the decision subfolder for Mallard Pass alone, let alone the other two projects, I struggle to believe the Secretary of State has engaged with the detail or read all of the documentation and representations".

Kearns criticism was echoed by her Conservative colleagues Sir Edward Leigh and Nick Timothy, who are also now set to host major new solar projects in their constituencies.

However, Labour remains adamant that swifter planning decisions for clean energy projects are essential if the UK is to meet its climate and energy security goals while holding down bills.

Meanwhile, the government is set to unveil further plans to boost UK renewables capacity through a new "rooftop revolution" that would make it easier to install solar panels on buildings.

According to reports over the weekend, the King's Speech on Wednesday - which will set out the government's legislative agenda for the coming year - is set to include both heavily trailed plans to establish a publicly-owned energy investment company called Great British Energy and new reforms to make it easier to install rooftop solar panels.

Current restrictions on where and how high up building solar panels can be installed are set to be relaxed, while the government also wants to reexamine restrictions on solar in conservation areas and on listed buildings, according to The Guardian.

Miliband also reportedly confirmed plans to relaunch the government-industry Solar Taskforce, which he is set to chair alongside Hewitt from Solar Energy UK.

The moves all come barely a week after Labour's landslide election victory on 4 July. The Party has made planning reform a top priority, in support of its ambitious goal to decarbonise Britain's power grid by 2030. A new draft National Planning Policy Framework designed to make it easier and quicker to secure approval for major clean energy projects is now expected before the summer recess, with Labour aiming to finalise the plans by the autumn.

Sam Richards, CEO of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, praised the pace of the government's push to reform planning rules and confirm planning consent for new projects.

"When Rachel Reeves outlined a series of major planning reforms just days after taking office designed to get Britain building, I said if Keir Starmer's government was really committed to hitting the ground running then the new Energy Secretary should give the green light to a host of shovel ready solar farms," said Richards. "So, I am delighted Ed Miliband has done what his predecessor failed to do and approved the Sunnica energy farm, Mallard Pass Solar Project and Gate Burton Energy Park. Once complete these renewable energy projects will deliver secure and abundant domestic energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes."

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