Steeple solar and battery scheme in Nottinghamshire granted development consent

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent for the Steeple Renewables Project, a solar farm with battery storage at Sturton-le-Steeple in Nottinghamshire, the Planning Inspectorate announced on 9 October 2026.

The Planning Inspectorate described the scheme as about 450MW of solar generation with about 150MW of battery energy storage. The applicant is Steeple Solar Farm Limited. RES, a renewable energy developer, says it is bringing forward the project.

Baroness Curran made the decision on behalf of the Energy Secretary's legal authority, the Planning Inspectorate said. The decision came a day before the statutory deadline of 10 October 2026 shown on the inspectorate's project page.

When the application was accepted for examination in June 2025, Will Bridges, RES' DCO Project Manager, said the company had made "substantial changes to our original proposals including the reduction in the area of land used for solar panels".

The scheme

RES says the project would use electricity grid capacity made available by the decommissioning of the adjacent West Burton Power Station, and that it has secured a connection agreement with National Grid to use that capacity.

RES's project website says the scheme would allow generation and export of up to 600MW of renewable energy.

RES says the scheme would generate enough renewable energy to power 180,000 homes, around half of all homes in Nottinghamshire. The company calculates this using the DESNZ average GB domestic consumption of 3,239kWh a year, as published in January 2024.

In its June 2025 announcement, RES said the project would bring £224m of investment during construction and create 400 jobs over a 24-month build programme. It also said the scheme includes a community benefits package of about £13m over the project's operational lifetime.

The consenting process

Steeple Solar Farm Limited submitted its Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate on 14 May 2025, and it was accepted for examination on 11 June 2025, according to the inspectorate.

The examination ran from 11 November 2025 to 10 April 2026, according to the project website. The Planning Inspectorate said local people, the local authority and other interested parties were able to take part in the six-month examination before the Examining Authority sent its recommendation to the Secretary of State on 10 July 2026.

During the decision stage the Secretary of State issued a consultation letter dated 25 August 2026, with responses published on 25 September 2026, the inspectorate's project page shows.

The Planning Inspectorate said this was the 115th energy application to be decided out of 183 examined to date, and that it was again completed within the statutory timescale set by the Planning Act 2008.

In the same June 2025 announcement, Mr Bridges said RES was "grateful for the feedback received during both stages of our consultation, which has helped shape the final proposals".

The developer

RES describes itself as the world's largest independent renewable energy company. It says it has delivered more than 28GW of renewable energy projects worldwide over more than 40 years and works across 24 countries.

Ofgem granted Steeple Solar Farm Limited, company number 13889253, an electricity generation licence on 12 June 2023 under section 6(1)(a) of the Electricity Act. The company's registered office is at Beauford Court, Egg Farm Lane, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, according to Ofgem's notice.

The decision, the Examining Authority's recommendation and the evidence it considered are published on the project pages of the National Infrastructure Planning website, the Planning Inspectorate said.