British Solar Renewables (BSR) has announced that it has been granted planning permission for a new solar PV power plant in Braintree, Essex.
In a recent planning meeting, Braintree Council approved the 49.9MW Knowl Green Solar Park for an operational lifespan of 40 years. BSR attributes its success in securing planning consent to a rigorous community consultation process, which lasted five weeks and led to notable changes to the proposed development plans.
These included removing specific construction compounds to minimise the impact of the construction on local traffic, as well as planting an additional three rows of trees around the site to mitigate the visual impact of the solar PV power plant. Following this approval, construction is set to begin in early 2026, with the site becoming operational within 12 months of the start of construction.
Biodiversity was also a key focus of BSR’s application, and the company has committed to a 179.96% biodiversity net gain on the 49.7-hectare site. A community benefit fund of up to £49,990 will support charitable community groups in towns near the site.
Commenting on the development milestone, James O’Connor, project manager at BSR said: “BSR is excited to have submitted a planning application to Braintree Council following a positive consultation with the local community. As part of this [development], existing habitats on site will be retained and managed over the lifespan of the development, something that we know is important to the local community.”
A big year for BSR
As we near the end of 2024, BSR is sure to be celebrating what has been a very successful year for the company.
In late May, BSR announced that it had been awarded planning permission for its second site that year, the 21MW Park Farm Solar Park in Suffolk, having previously secured permission for a similarly sized development in Suffolk, the Town Farm Solar Park, in January. Another planning success followed in June, as Maldon District Council agreed to changes made by BSR to a previously rejected application and granted planning permission for the 19MW Dengie Solar Park in Essex.
The same month, the company closed its first portfolio financing facility thanks to a funding injection from Lloyds Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, who supplied debt financing against five assets built or under construction in the UK and Australia with a combined annual solar generation capacity of 132GWh.
