UK Greenlights Beacon Fen Hybrid Park With 400 MW Solar and 600 MW Storage

Low Carbon’s Beacon Fen Energy Park has cleared the UK’s nationally significant infrastructure projects planning process, with the government approving a hybrid facility that will pair 400 MW of solar capacity with a 600 MW battery system.

Both the solar and storage elements are designed to share a single grid connection at the Bicker Fen 400 kV substation. Network operator NESO has logged a 600 MW grid connection for the project at that substation. Bicker Fen is also where Viking Link terminates — the 765-kilometre high-voltage direct-current cable that ties the British and Danish electricity systems and holds the record as the world’s longest combined onshore and subsea power link.

Low Carbon’s UK Development Managing Director Mike Rutgers described receiving the consent as “a landmark moment.” The decision is also notable as the first major energy infrastructure ruling made by the new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2027, with full commissioning targeted for the early 2030s. The government now faces a separate deadline: a ruling on the 840 MW Botley West solar farm — the next project in the consent queue — is due by 10 September.

Source: PV Magazine