Solar planning approval rates by council

What is the average solar farm approval rate in the UK?

Across 371 UK planning authorities, 93% of decided solar farms applications were approved — 5,456 granted against 381 refused, from 5,837 decisions in total. That is computed from recorded outcomes in the government Renewable Energy Planning Database, not estimated. 39,372 MW has been consented, with 1062 applications still awaiting a decision.

How long does solar farm planning permission take?

The median UK authority decides a solar farm application in 2.3 months, measured from the submission date to the decision date recorded in REPD. The spread is wide: the fastest authorities here decide in around 1.1 months, while the slowest take 20.3 months or more. Speed and approval rate are largely independent — a permissive council is not necessarily a fast one.

Which councils approve the most solar farms?

By volume, Somerset, Cornwall, North Yorkshire have decided the most. By approval rate among authorities with a meaningful caseload, East Riding of Yorkshire (100%), Birmingham (100%), Newcastle upon Tyne (100%) lead. Every authority with 5 or more decisions is listed below with its own page.

What does this data not tell me?

REPD records outcomes but not refusal REASONS, so nothing here explains why a scheme failed — landscape and cumulative impact, the most common real drivers of refusal, are professional judgements that appear in no open dataset. It covers schemes of roughly 150 kW and above, is published quarterly, and small caseloads make percentages volatile. Use it to compare authorities and set expectations, not to predict an individual decision.

All 298 authorities with 5+ solar decisions

Other technologies