Brighter outlook for solar energy work as planners approve new projects

An increasingly favourable planning approach towards new solar energy schemes as part of the renewables mix is creating a valuable source of new construction work.

Go-aheads have been given recently on applications for various high profile solar energy farms which have underlined the potential for new work in the sector.

Solar power is seen as a key component in the government’s net zero ambitions. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has a target to expand solar capacity in Britain from around 17 gigawatts currently to 45-47 gigawatts by 2030.

The latest Glenigan Construction Industry Forecast 2025-2026 highlights solar photovoltaic (PV) schemes as a key source of growing energy investment. Solar schemes are seen as a key contributor to a predicted 5% increase in underlying civil engineering starts this year followed by a further 7% increase in 2026.

Earlier this month, proposals for the 103-acre Appletree Solar Farm near Halesworth in Suffolk were recommended for approval by planning officers despite hundreds of local objections. The £10 million scheme by Pathfinder Clean Energy includes 23 battery storage units and would generate 27 MW, enough to power over 10,500 homes (Project ID: 22412367).

Meanwhile, in recent weeks another developer, EcoPower, has unveiled plans for a huge new energy farm and battery storage scheme – the size of 850 football pitches – on a 1,500 acre site at nearby Eye in Suffolk. The development would rank as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and could generate power for 75,000 homes within five years.

A decision is also awaited on another NSIP, the £500 million Kingsway Solar Farm in south Cambridgeshire where a scoping request has been submitted, and work could start in 2027 (Project ID: 24375354).

Developers encouraged

Developers in the solar sector have been particularly encouraged by the go-ahead given last summer – despite fierce local opposition – for Sunnica’s major 2,500-acre solar farm at Mildenhall and Newmarket on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border. The project’s backers said the scheme would power 172,000 homes and create 1,500 jobs during construction and work on the £600 million scheme is due to start this Spring (Project ID: 19093653).

Glenigan data highlights numerous solar energy schemes around the country where work is set to start in the coming months.

As well as the previously mentioned Halesworth scheme, Pathfinder Clean Energy is due to start work this year on the Attleborough Solar Farm across a 38-hectare site in south Norfolk. The £10 million project involves a ground-mounted solar (PV) farm along with continued agricultural use, infrastructure and security fencing, landscaping, and associated works (Project ID: 20374011).

Meanwhile, at Meridian Solar Farm at Royston in Hertfordshire, the local planning authority has decided that an environmental impact assessment will not be required for a £25 million development. A full application from client Quintas Cleantech is awaited and work on the project across 50 acres, could start early next year and run for seven months (Project ID: 25051219).

Public sector investment

Public sector bodies are also investing in the solar sector themselves. In the North West, detailed plans have been granted and applications to tender are currently being invited by Lancaster Council for the £10 million Burrow Beck Solar Farm. Work on a 4GWh solar farm, including three substations, is due to start later this spring (Project ID: 23135945).

Smaller solar projects can also offer opportunities for new construction work. In Wolverhampton, for example, detailed plans have been granted, and construction is set to get underway this summer on the £1 million Deepmore Lane Solar Farm (Project ID: 23112766).