Public consultations to be held over plans for huge solar farm near Doncaster

Developer RWE Renewables is calling on members of the public to inspect plans for the proposed Tween Bridge Solar Farm which will lie between Thorne and Crowle.

The power generator, one of the largest renewables developers in the UK, is encouraging people to take part in its first stage of consultation throughout October and November.

Launched last year following an greement with National Grid, the farm is located on land to the east of Thorne and west of Crowle.

The project would be located next to RWE’s existing Tween Bridge onshore Wind Farm and have an installed array capacity of up to 600MW, plus a 400MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) which could, if consented, be operational by 2030.

The consultation is running for eight weeks and is due to close on Wednesday 29 November 2023.

RWE wants to hear views on the project, including its preliminary environmental information and plans to minimise potential impacts which have been published on the Tween Bridge Solar Farm website www.tweenbridgesolar.co.uk.

Paul Hunt, Senior Development Manager, RWE Renewables, said: “We are keen to hear people's views on our Tween Bridge Solar Farm project and would encourage the local community to get involved in the consultation and tell us their thoughts.

"After the consultation has closed, we’ll consider all comments and use them to develop our proposals, including any concerns raised. The deadline for sending feedback to us is Wednesday 29 November 2023.”

Two public exhibitions are being held as part of the consultation on the following dates.

Monday 16 October2pm – 7pmThornesians RUFC, Church Balk, Thorne, DN8 5BU

Tuesday 17 October2pm – 7pmCrowle Community Hub, Market Place, Crowle, DN17 4LAAn online webinar is also being held on Wednesday 1 November 2023 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. People can register for the webinar via the Tween Bridge Solar Farm website www.tweenbridgesolar.co.uk or contacting [email protected].

Tween Bridge Solar Farm would simultaneously host both solar power generation and animal grazing. It is planned for Tween Bridge Solar Farm to become one of the region’s largest sheep farms, with sheep grazing the fields within the solar farm. Habitat enhancement opportunities have also been identified for insects, pollinators, birds, bats and other native species.

Tween Bridge Solar Farm is RWE Renewables latest regional investment as it seeks to expand its UK renewable portfolio. Its established presence in the region includes Goole Fields, Tween Bridge, the Humber Gateway and Triton Knoll Offshore Wind farms alongside their associated operations hub in Grimsby.

RWE is the leading power generator in the UK, supplying around 15% of the country’s electricity.

A spokesman added: “We have plans to expand our UK footprint even further, with over 13GW of renewables at various stages of development and ambitions to invest up to £15bn by 2030 in developing clean energy projects in the UK to support the energy transition, creating high quality jobs and supporting local supply chains.

"RWE Renewables is moving forward with its UK solar ambitions including the construction of RWE’s first large-scale UK solar projects, following the acquisition of JBM Solar last year. The first projects are expected to get underway later this year with full construction to follow in 2024.”