As the UK becomes more reliant on electricity, with the electrification of sectors such as transport, heating and industry, more power generation capacity will be needed. According to the UK’s independent advisor on climate change, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), demand for electricity is forecast to increase by 50% by 2035.¹

Against this backdrop of increasing demand, security of energy supply needs to be a key area of focus. To both achieve this and the UK’s decarbonisation goals, the CCC has advised that a range of different technologies will be needed in the UK to maintain a secure and stable supply of electricity.²

The UK Government’s CP30 (Clean Power 2030) has an ambitious mission to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030, aiming for at least 95% of generation to come from clean sources. Developed with the National Energy System Operator (NESO), this plan focuses on expanding renewables, nuclear, and storage to achieve a secure, homegrown energy supply.

Solar is essential for reaching the UK Government’s target of 95% of electricity generation from low-carbon sources by 2030 in part because solar panels, can be installed much faster than other renewable infrastructure, making them key to meeting the 2030 target.

To help achieve this, the UK Government’s Solar Roadmap, published in June 2025, sets out a robust plan to accelerate the expansion of solar energy nationwide. At its core, the roadmap commits to increasing the UK’s installed solar capacity to at least 70 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, up from approximately 15 GW in 2025. This growth will be achieved through a blend of large-scale solar farms and widespread rooftop installations across homes, schools, commercial and public buildings.³

If planning permission is granted, once operational, there will be a community benefit fund associated with the solar farm.

The proposed contribution would be £1,000 per MW of installed capacity per year. Based on the current design, this would equate to an annual fund of approximately £50,000.

The fund would be established in line with Uniper’s corporate policy. Details of how the fund would operate, including governance arrangements and eligibility criteria, would be developed in consultation with the local community and in accordance with Uniper’s compliance requirements.

As part of this consultation, we are seeking feedback on local priorities and the types of initiatives that a community benefit fund could support. This feedback will help inform how the fund is structured, should the project proceed.

We will ensure that we keep local stakeholders informed at each stage of the development. 

We have concluded our public consultation on the emerging plans for the Sutton Bonington solar farm. This consultation programme provided an opportunity for local communities and stakeholders to ask questions and provide feedback on our proposal. The consultation period ran from 11 March - 13 April 2026.

Thank you to everyone who participated and provided comments on our plans. Your feedback is very important to us. We are now considering the responses received to help inform our scheme design ahead of a planning application being submitted later this year. 

You can find our more information on the Sutton Bonington solar farm project on our dedicated consultation website: https://uniperuk.consulting/suttonbonington/.

You can also email us at [email protected] or call us on 01624 624389. Phone lines are staffed Monday - Friday 9am to 5pm, with an answer phone service outside of working hours.

Write to us at Sutton Bonington Solar c/o Deetu, BWB Consulting Westminster House, 11 Portland St, Manchester, M1 3HU

For more information on our consultation and details of how you can have your say, please visit our dedicated consultation website at https://uniperuk.consulting/suttonbonington/

Once built, Uniper will own and operate the solar farm. 

• land size 72.9 ha
• area covered by PV 30ha
• size of PV modules - 620 Wp
• number of modules - 115200
• power output - 71.42 MWp
• power equates to - 49.7 MWac  

This is dependent on our gaining planning permission. We hope to submit our application later this year. 

The solar farm has a 40-year operational life span. 

How we will connect to the grid is currently under discussion with the District Network Operator (DNO), no cable route has been confirmed at this time. 

We do not currently have a connection date, we estimate that it could be mid to late 2028. 

Solar and wind farms are classified as temporary developments under planning regulations. Consequently, at the end of the asset’s lifecycle, the site would be fully decommissioned, and the land reinstated to its original condition, ensuring minimal long-term impact on its future use.  

Throughout the development, Uniper will manage all activities to keep any potential impacts to a minimum and we will also ensure we keep local stakeholders informed at each stage. 

Under the terms negotiated, the landowner would receive a rental income for the leasing of their land to the solar farm.  

The land is currently used for arable farming. 

Solar farms are classified as temporary developments under planning regulations. If planning permission is granted, the proposed solar farm would operate for approximately 40 years. At the end of this period, the site would be fully decommissioned, and the land reinstated in accordance with planning requirements.

The landowner would have the option, at their discretion, to introduce grazing livestock within parts of the site during operation, should they wish to do so. Uniper would not be responsible for agricultural activity on the land. Detailed land management arrangements will be submitted as part of the planning application.

Leasing land for renewable energy projects can provide landowners with a long-term and predictable income stream, supporting continued land management.

The woodland on site would be retained.

We are aiming for the right of way to be preserved throughout construction and when the solar farm is operational. However, we might need to temporarily divert or close the right of way during construction but will make sure that the local community is informed in advance, if this happens.

This is to be determined by the Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) which will be submitted with the planning application, work for this is still underway. We will endeavour to keep any disruption to a minimum. 

We will need to carry out pre-determination archaeology surveys, and this will be agreed with the county archaeologist. 

We aim to minimise any impact on the natural environment, and where possible will carry out work to enhance the surrounding area. This is something we are currently working on and will form part of the planning application. 

The primary focus of the Local Development Order (LDO) at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station site is to provide high value low carbon energy and employment uses.  This makes best use of the site characteristics with excellent road, rail and grid connectivity, access to water, and proximity to the airport.  The LDO sets out the expectation for either rooftop solar or green roofs, on new developments on the site.   

There is an area of south-facing hillside allocated for standalone solar within the LDO.  This is 10.5ha plot so would form a comparatively small solar scheme, and smaller than the scheme we propose at Sutton Bonington.  This plot is part of the land British Gypsum proposes to quarry.  Therefore, it will not be available for solar development until after the quarry is completed. 

For the above reasons, solar developments could come forward on the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station site under the LDO, but at a smaller scale and predominantly on rooftops, as the site is developed.