The 600MW development will comprise four ground mounted solar PV generating stations in West Lindsay, Lincolnshire, four onsite substations and a battery energy storage system (BESS). Image: Island Green Power.
Cottam Solar Project, being developed by Island Green Power, which has delivered 14 solar projects in the UK and Ireland, has been awarded a development consent order (DCO) by secretary of state for energy security and net zero Ed Miliband.
The 600MW development will comprise four ground mounted solar PV generating stations in West Lindsay, Lincolnshire, four onsite substations and a battery energy storage system (BESS). The development will cover four separate sites across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, totalling an area of 1,270 hectares.
The DCO application was submitted in January 2023 and an examination held between September 2023 and March 2024. Due to the size of the development, it is classed as a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP).
According to Miliband’s decision letter, the public benefits of the development outweigh any harm caused, in accordance with the Planning Inspectorate. It gave “little negative weight” to the loss of agricultural land—an oft-used reason for refusal.
It will use the connection that formerly served Cottam coal-fired power station. The last remaining coal-fired power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, is set to close at the end of the month having received its final shipment of coal at the beginning of July.
Read more: SolarPowerPortal
