Longfield Solar Farm has moved a step closer to starting construction after the Government
today awarded it planning consent.
The DCO application, which is the first DCO solar project developed by EDF Renewables in the
UK, was submitted in February 2022 following 18 months of engagement and consultation with
stakeholders and communities.
Ben Fawcett, Head of Solar at EDF Renewables UK, said: “I am delighted that, after months of
careful consideration, the Government has given planning consent for Longfield Solar Farm. It is
a significant endorsement of our proposals.
“I would like to thank everyone who contributed to our consultation and the public examination.
The feedback we received from residents, local authorities, environmental groups and many
others has helped shape our plans. We will continue to work closely with them to make sure we
minimise the impact of construction and maximise the huge opportunities for the area.”
Located near Chelmsford in Essex, Longfield will make an important contribution to the UK’s
future energy mix by providing enough clean, secure energy to power over 96,000 homes* every
year.
It will also kick-start a programme of research to look at the positive impacts large-scale solar
farms can have on biodiversity and wildlife in the UK. The research will tie into Longfield’s plans
and commitments to deliver substantial biodiversity enhancements through habitat restoration
and management. It is our ambition that this would add to the accumulated knowledge on
biodiversity enhancements and land use across the industry as well as in our future projects.
EDF Renewables UK will consider the detail of the consent and the programme for delivery of the
project, before engaging with stakeholders and the community on our plans to bring this project
forward into construction. Construction will last for approximately two years, and after a period of
site commissioning, we hope to be exporting electricity to the national grid at the start of 2028.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Load factors based on the five-year rolling averages on unchanged configuration basis using
Table 6.5 of ‘Digest of UK Energy Statistics’ – latest figures as per July 2019. Based upon the
average domestic electricity consumption per home (temperature corrected) per the Energy
Consumption in the UK (published July 2019, Table C9 of ECUK). Based upon the Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s “all fossil fuels” emissions statistic of 450 tonnes of
carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (published
July 2020).
Longfield Solar Farm is now a 100% EDF Renewables UK owned project. It is the first in what is
planned to be a programme of EDF Renewables UK DCO projects contributing to the UK’s low
carbon energy targets.
For further information, please contact: Peter Hess, peter.hess@edf-re.uk
