The Secretary of State for Energy has approved Sunnica‘s £600 million solar farm on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border.
Sunnica has expressed satisfaction with the decision, highlighting the project’s significance to national renewable energy efforts.
The approval follows scrutiny, planning and public consultations.
The Secretary of State for Energy noted that the public benefits of the project outweigh the identified harm.
In the Secretary of State for Energy decision letter, it is stated: “The Secretary of State has considered the overall planning balance and, for the reasons set out in this decision letter, has concluded that the public benefits for the proposed development outweigh the harm identified and that development consent should therefore be granted for the proposed development.”
Sunnica’s energy farm is projected to generate enough electricity to power approximately 100,000 homes.
Sunnica said: “We will now move forward towards the implementation phase, ultimately allowing us to create clean renewable energy for the UK and look forward to meeting with local authorities and the wider community to plan the next steps.”
Originally set for a September decision, the 2,500-acre solar farm near Newmarket has faced scrutiny from local MPs, including Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Digital and Culture.
The project, equivalent to about 2,000 football pitches, has been reviewed under the National Significant Infrastructure process due to its size.
