Proposals - Kingsway Solar

Introduction

What is Kingsway Solar Farm?

Kingsway Solar is a proposed solar farm and battery storage project to be located on parcels of land around the areas of Balsham, West Wratting, Weston Colville, and Weston Green in Cambridgeshire. Kingsway Solar would have the potential to supply around 500 Megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid.

It will also include an approximate 14km Grid Connection to National Grid’s planned Burwell South substation, to be located to the south of the existing substation at Burwell.

Key statistics about the site

175,000

homes powered

500

1,500

hectares

Why is Kingsway Solar Farm needed?

To achieve the UK Government’s commitment to ‘net-zero’ carbon emissions by 2050, projects such as Kingsway Solar Farm are needed to help provide cleaner sources of energy. If approved, Kingsway Solar Farm would make a significant contribution to energy security in the U.K. providing energy to up to 175,000 homes.

The energy transition will see older forms of generation, such as fossil fuel power stations, phased out and there is an urgent need for cleaner forms of generation to replace them. Solar farms such as Kingsway will play a key role in meeting this need and accelerating the countries transition to net-zero.

With the co-location of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), Kingsway will be able to provide ancillary services to help stabilise the local and national grid network. The addition of the BESS will also allow Kingsway to efficiently use the solar energy, storing surplus energy at points of low demand, releasing it when needed.

Capacity

We have secured a grid connection agreement which would allow us to import and export over 50MW of electricity to the National Grid. The generation capacity of the scheme means it is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and we will be required to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) application.

DCO applications are managed by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) on behalf of the Secretary of State for energy security and net zero. You can find out more about the planning process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects on the PINS website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/

Next steps

Step one

A campaign of environmental surveys and site assessments have been performed to understand further how the project will interact with the landscape allowing us to make informed decisions on how the site evolves.

Step two

Our stage one consultation ran for six weeks from 31 October until 12 December 2024. We carried out engagement with the public, local planning authorities, and other stakeholders to seek their feedback on our proposals. The project materials can be viewed in our document library.

Step three

Our stage one consultation is now closed. The feedback we received during the consultation, as well as our ongoing environmental and technical assessments, will be carefully considered and will help us develop the project design. More information will be available to view and comment on during our second stage of consultation in 2025.

Downing Renewable Developments ran its first stage of consultation on Kingsway Solar Farm from 31 October 2024 and 12 December 2024. The consultation period is now closed.