
Renewable energy developer Innova has been granted full planning consent for a 49.9MW solar development with significant co-located energy storage capacity near Doncaster.
Doncaster Council granted full permission for the Almhome Energy Hub project, which is set to be located in Almhome, a hamlet 4.4 miles north of the city of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Alongside the 49.9MW solar installation planned for the 173-acre site, the development will feature a 1.025GW/2.05GWh battery energy storage system (BESS), which Innova states is the second largest BESS project to gain planning consent to date.
Planning documentation indicates that 894 BESS containers will be installed on the site, alongside a large number of solar panels utilising bifacial photovoltaic cells. Bifacial solar panels can produce as much as 10-20% more power than traditional monofacial setups, and Innova’s planning application states that the panels will also help minimise solar glare for the surrounding site.
Additionally, a number of biodiversity enhancements are planned for the Almhome Energy Hub development, which will lead to a predicted biodiversity net gain of 82% for wildlife habitat units, 132% for hedgerow units, and 16% for watercourse units. The development is expected to last 50 years, after which it will be decommissioned and the land returned to its original state.
No date has been revealed yet for the start of construction on the site or the expected grid connection date, but the planning approval stipulates that development must begin within the next five years.
Rob Parish, senior project manager at Innova, said: “We are proud to announce that Almholme Energy Hub has gained planning consent. This state-of-the-art facility will provide much-needed energy storage capacity, ensuring that renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are effectively harnessed and distributed.
“As a result, it will play a significant role in helping the UK achieve its clean energy goals, accelerating the transition to renewable power and ensuring a more resilient, sustainable, and affordable energy system for generations to come.”
Strong start to the year for Innova
This announcement follows what was a bumper year for Innova in 2024, with the firm securing several major planning approvals and energisations throughout the year.
In September, Innova received planning permission to expand the capacity of its consented Blythe Solar Farm, a co-located solar power plant and BESS development. The expansion will see 16.6MW of solar capacity added to the site, bringing the total site capacity to 44.3MWp of solar capacity plus a 30MW BESS. The development is expected to come online in 2027. The following month, the company was granted consent to develop a 13MWp solar PV power plant in Gloucestershire, the Welsh Way Solar Farm.
Innova also celebrated the successful energisation of three solar PV power plants in 2024. The Elms Farm Solar Park, a 27.8MWp development in Warwickshire, was energised in November 2024, following the successful energisation of the 28.5MWp Stokeford Solar Park in Dorset in July and Lincolnshire’s 22.6MWp Bicker Fen solar PV power plant coming online in March.