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Renewable planning SolarEast Cambridgeshire

Solar planning in East Cambridgeshire

East Cambridgeshire has decided 21 solar farms and approved 100% of them, taking a median of 3.4 months to decide. Consented capacity: 364 MW. 2 applications still awaiting a decision.

100%
Approved
21 granted · 0 refused
3.4 mo
Median decision
UK 2.3 mo
364 MW
Consented
across approved schemes
0
Appeals
no appeals recorded

How East Cambridgeshire compares

Against the 298 UK authorities with 5+ solar decisions, East Cambridgeshire sits in the 77th percentile for approval rate (7 points above the England average) and the 23rd percentile for speed.

Decisions by year

35Approved — 1 (2011)111Approved — 1 (2012)112Approved — 1 (2013)113Approved — 4 (2014)414Approved — 1 (2015)115Approved — 2 (2020)220Approved — 3 (2021)321Approved — 1 (2022)122Approved — 4 (2023)423Approved — 1 (2024)124Approved — 2 (2025)225
Approved Refused

Solar decisions by the year the decision was issued (Renewable Energy Planning Database). Withdrawn and still-undecided applications are excluded, so a short bar can mean a quiet year rather than a strict council.

Every recorded scheme (24)

SchemeMWStatusDecided
Quotient Bioresearch Limited, Newmarket Road - Solar Panels
East Cambridgeshire · 25/00962/SON · 1.9 mo to decide
0.22Awaiting Construction2025-11-06
Willow Hall Farm, Hillrow Causeway - Solar Panels
Dennis (Haddenham) Limited · 25/00745/SON · 1 mo to decide
0.15Awaiting Construction2025-08-08
Long Barrow Solar Farm Project
Low Carbon Solar Park 42 Limited · 25/00770/ESF
49.9Application Submitted2025-07-16
Burwell Anchor Lane Farm, Newnham Drove - Solar Panels
Burwell AL Limited · 25/00393/FUM
49.95Application Submitted2025-04-02
Cambridge Commodities, Lancaster Way Business Park - Solar Panels
Cambridge Commodities Limited · 23/01044/SON · 1.8 mo to decide
0.21Awaiting Construction2024-01-15
Newmarket Road, Bottisham - Solar Array
Ridge Clean Energy Limited · 22/01291/ESF · 13.1 mo to decide
49.9Awaiting Construction2023-12-21
Arthur Rickwood Farm, Chatteris Road - Solar Panels
Monkfield Nutrition · 23/00505/FUM
0.66Application Withdrawn2023-09-11
The Cloisters - Solar Panels
Buccleuch Property · 23/00518/SON · 2 mo to decide
Awaiting Construction2023-06-28
Lees Packhouse, The Gault - Solar PV System
BeBa Energy UK Limited · 23/00465/SON · 1.6 mo to decide
0.27Awaiting Construction2023-06-06
Mettleham Farm Centre, Hasse Road - Solar Panels
Private Developer · 23/00168/SON · 1.5 mo to decide
0.15Awaiting Construction2023-03-27
The Harbour School, Station Road - Solar Panels & ASHP
Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust · 22/01105/FUL · 1.4 mo to decide
0.9Awaiting Construction2022-11-04
Breach Farm - Solar farm
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust · DC/21/0968/FUL · 7.4 mo to decide
49.9Operational2021-12-10
Bracks Farm
British Solar Renewables / BayWa r.e. UK Limited · 20/00522/FUM · 17.7 mo to decide
28Operational2021-10-12
Goose Hall Solar Farm
Lightsource BP · 20/01654/FUL · 3.4 mo to decide
5Awaiting Construction2021-03-19
North Angle Farm
Cambridgeshire County Council / Bouygues ES · 20/00761/CCA · 3.7 mo to decide
29.4Under Construction2020-11-25
Burwell Solar Farm
EDF Energy Renewables · 20/00557/ESF · 6.6 mo to decide
49.9Under Construction2020-11-19
Goosehall Solar Farm
Lightsource Renewable Energy · 15/00723/ESF · 4.3 mo to decide
39.5Operational2015-11-10
Stowbridge Farm - Extension (Phase 2)
FC Palmer and Sons · 14/00839/ESF · 3.4 mo to decide
10Operational2014-11-11
Triangle Solar Farm Park
Cambridge County Council · 14/00779/FUM · 3 mo to decide
12Operational2014-10-08
Exning
Vortex (formerly Sun Edison) · 13/00878/ESF · 8.4 mo to decide
29.9Operational2014-07-04
Stowbridge Farm - Extension (Phase 1)
FC Palmer & Sons Ltd · S/1516/13/FL · 6.5 mo to decide
10Operational2014-03-06
Mingay Farm - extension
Octopus Imvetments · 13/00499/ESF · 3.6 mo to decide
19.3Operational2013-10-30
Stowbridge Farm
Magnetar Solar · 12/00732/ESF · 2.5 mo to decide
24Operational2012-12-10
Mingay Farm
Abbey Renewables · 10/00958/FUM · 3.6 mo to decide
5Operational2011-02-09

Does East Cambridgeshire approve solar farms?

Yes — of the 21 solar farms East Cambridgeshire has decided, 100% were approved (21 granted, 0 refused). The UK-wide rate for solar is 93%.

How long does a solar farm application take in East Cambridgeshire?

The median time from application to decision is 3.4 months, against a UK median of 2.3 months for solar. That is measured between the submission and decision dates recorded in REPD, so it reflects the whole determination period including any extensions.

How much solar capacity has East Cambridgeshire consented?

364 MW has been consented across 21 approved schemes. A further 2 applications awaits a decision.

Other technologies in East Cambridgeshire

Battery storage in East CambridgeshireOnshore wind in East Cambridgeshire

Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Open Government Licence v3.0 — 2026 Q1 extract. Approval rate is over decided applications only (approved ÷ approved+refused); withdrawn and undecided schemes are excluded. A permission later expired still counts as approved because consent was granted. REPD covers schemes of roughly 150 kW and above, is published quarterly, and does not record refusal reasons — so nothing here explains why a scheme was refused. Screening context for site selection, not planning advice.

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