Approved solar farm projects to power over 400,000 homes

The government has given the green light to three new solar farm projects, which are expected to provide enough energy to power more than 400,000 homes.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has approved plans for solar farms at Mallard Pass, spanning Rutland and Lincolnshire, Sunnica in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and Gate Burton in Lincolnshire.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) estimates that these projects will generate a total of 1.4 gigawatts (GW) of power, sufficient to supply 406,994 homes. Altogether, the solar farms will cover 2,837 hectares.

However, the decision has sparked controversy among residents in the proposed areas.

The government has addressed some of the concerns in the decision letters for the Mallard Pass project, noting that any supplier must annually upload its modern slavery and human trafficking statement to the Home Office register for monitoring by local planning authorities.

Regarding the Sunnica project, Miliband acknowledged the trade-off between decarbonised power and the loss of food production, stating that the need for renewable energy outweighs this concern.