The UK could soon be home to several of Europe's largest solar farms as more than two dozen giant projects, each several hundred megawatts in size, make their way through the country's planning system.

Major developers like RWE AG, Ørsted A/S and Lightsource BP Renewable Energy Investments Ltd. are among those behind 25 large-scale solar facilities applying for development consent orders (DCOs) — the permits required for "nationally significant" low-carbon infrastructure in the UK.

The solar pipeline vying for DCO approval now stands at more than 10 GW, according to an S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis of UK Planning Inspectorate data, almost tripling in the last two years.

Three projects, representing more than 1 GW, have already been granted DCOs, the most recently approved being Electricité de France SA's up to 500-MW Longfield solar farm in Essex, England.

Many of the developments plan to make use of connections on the transmission grid left vacant by long-retired British coal plants, while several will also be co-located with massive battery storage systems.

Together, the projects will help ramp up the UK's solar capacity as it targets 70 GW by 2035 — a fivefold increase from the approximately 14 GW installed today, requiring at least 4 GW of new capacity to be built each year.

UK 'best market' for giant projects

The first UK solar project to win DCO approval was Cleve Hill, which got the green light in May 2020. Developed by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners Pty. Ltd., the project consists of a 373-MW solar farm and a 150-MW battery and is set to enter operation at the end of 2024.

INRG Solar Ltd.'s 150-MW Little Crow was second to get the green light in April 2022, followed by EDF's Longfield project in June 2023.

These early successes have encouraged other developers to pitch similar projects all over England and Wales. The largest is the 840-MW Botley West solar farm in Oxfordshire, developed by Photovolt Development Partners GmbH.

"The UK now is offering the best market in Europe for projects of our scale," Photovolt CEO Peter Gerstmann said in an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights, describing the DCO process as a "game changer."

Under UK planning rules, solar developments larger than 50 MW are deemed to be "nationally significant infrastructure projects" and must be consented to at a national government level via DCOs, rather than applying for traditional permits from local authorities.

"I think [the DCO process] is the reason why the UK is now enjoying such a boom in developments because I don't know of any other European country ... where you have a streamlined process like that," Gerstmann said.

The CEO's comments come amid a Europeanwide effort to accelerate approval processes for renewables projects. In general, permitting can take up to nine years for wind farms and 4.5 years for ground-mounted solar projects, according to the European Commission.

The slow pace is typically attributed to bureaucratic processes, legal challenges from local groups and understaffed planning agencies.

Although Botley West has attracted vocal opponents due to its vast size of more than 900 hectares, Gerstmann has confidence in the DCO process being able to cut through the noise.

"I wouldn't do a project like this in Germany ... because it's not possible. It would drag out for 20 years and have lots of objections," Gerstmann said. "The DCO process allows the secretary of state ... to determine what is in the interest of the nation as a whole: energy independence or the view from the window."

Bulging pipeline

Photovolt plans to submit its DCO application for Botley West in mid-2024. The approval process typically takes about 18 months, according to Gerstmann, adding to about two years of site investigations and consultations with stakeholders before submission.

Under an indicative timeline, the project would start construction in 2025, ahead of its planned grid connection in 2027. The development is expected to cost more than £900 million.

As it stands, a total of 13 solar projects are expected to put in their DCO applications in 2024, including BayWa r.e. AG for its 163-MW Oaklands Farm development, RWE for its 180-MW Byers Gill and 600-MW Tween Bridge projects and Lightsource BP for its 350-MW Maen Hir solar farm.

Seven applications totaling more than 3.3 GW are already in process. A decision on PS Renewables and Tribus Clean Energy's 500-MW Sunnica is expected first, with the Planning Inspectorate setting a deadline of March 7, 2024, for the government to make a ruling.

Once approved, projects can bid into a contracts for difference (CFD) auction, competing for 15-year fixed-price offtake contracts.

Some 1.9 GW of solar was awarded CFDs in the most recent bidding round in September 2023 — the largest of which was 57 MW in size. Meanwhile, Cleve Hill, the first solar project to receive DCO approval, secured a 112-MW contract in 2022's auction.

The bid ceiling for solar in 2024's CFD round was recently raised by 30% to £61/MWh from £47/MWh, both in 2012 prices, as the government sought to compensate for rising project costs.

S&P Global Commodity Insights produces content for distribution on S&P Capital IQ Pro.