Land group extends reach and branches out into renewable energy sector

Manchester-based The Strategic Land Group (SLG) has expanded into the renewables sector following growing interest from power companies as the drive for clean energy accelerates.

Previously focused on the North and Midlands, the business has also extended its geographical reach to the rest of the UK.

SLG is a land promotion company and has secured planning for thousands of new homes on sites across the North and Midlands.

It is currently working with a 15-site portfolio, actively promoting sites with the potential to deliver more than 2,000 new homes and with a gross GDV of more than £500m.

Following its expansion into renewables, the business has launched a new brand identity while relocating from Salford into a new office in the centre of Manchester.

Managing director, Paul Smith, said: “Ambitious net zero targets coupled with the energy crisis has hastened the move toward renewable energy production, increasing the demand for solar and battery storage sites.

“Locating suitable sites and securing planning and connection to the grid, is often very challenging, so we will be working with power companies and landowners to make the process as straightforward as possible and help to boost the production of renewable energy and the storage capacity for excess power.”

The energy security strategy has set an ambition for 95% of the UK’s electricity generation to be low-carbon by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035.

In 2020, planning rules for battery energy storage projects were relaxed, making the UK an attractive market for energy storage investors. Recent figures from RenewableUK revealed that the UK energy storage pipeline is now twice as large as it was in 2020 in terms of battery capacity.

Additional planning changes have been mooted to make it easier to secure permission for ground-mounted solar panels on non-protected land, which would support the release of additional solar capacity.

The Government expects solar capacity to increase five-fold by 2035, reaching 14GW.