Island Green Power has opened the second round of community consultation for the East Pye Solar project, a proposed 500MW solar PV power plant with a co-located battery energy storage system (BESS).
The project, which is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) due to its solar generation capacity, will be located on land near Long Stratton in South Norfolk if a Development Consent Order (DCO) is granted. The proposed capacity for the onsite BESS has not yet been revealed by Island Green Power.
Part of the development process for the scheme will include a new National Grid substation, to be operated by National Grid Electricity Transmission, alongside works to existing 400kV overhead lines in the area and biodiversity enhancements.
Island Green Power is currently considering two different options for the mounting of the PV panels. One option includes the use of trackers, which rotate from east to west to follow the sun throughout the day and are aligned in north-south rows; or fixed panels that are aligned in east-west rows and face a fixed angle of between +10 and 35 degrees from horizontal, with a maximum height of up to 3.5 metres.
The developer has stated that it plans to submit an application for a DCO to the Planning Inspectorate in winter of this year. Once the application is submitted, the Planning Inspectorate will have 28 days to decide if it will accept the application for examination; after this, the examination and approval process is expected to take approximately two years.
If the Planning Inspectorate grants a DCO, the earliest construction is expected to start is late 2027 or early 2028, according to Island Green Power. The site will operate for 60 years before a decommissioning plan will be enacted.
Samantha Jones, project development manager at Island Green Power explained the importance of community feedback in developing solar proposals, stating: “Following our initial consultation and as part of our ongoing commitment to sensitive design and responding to people’s feedback, we have refined our proposals in several ways. We are grateful to everyone who has shared their views and contributed to helping shape the Scheme so far.”
She added: “Projects like East Pye Solar are vital to enabling the transition from fossil fuel to low-carbon energy, and we’re committed to delivering a scheme that makes a meaningful contribution to both local and national energy needs.”
Island Green Power has been working on several solar NSIPs in recent months. In May of this year, the developer announced that it had submitted an application for its another solar NSIP, the Green Hill Solar Farm. The proposed 500MW solar plus storage development is located near Wellingborough, Northampton; if approval is granted, construction will take place between 2027 and 2029, and the project will be connected to the grid in 2029.
