Heckington Fen Solar Park

The climate crisis needs fighting now, so we’re keen to use Heckington Fen to create clean, renewable energy which contributes towards the UK’s net zero targets. If the solar park is approved and constructed, we will not build the wind turbines.

The proposed solar park will generate around 3 times more electricity than the wind turbines would, and with the addition of energy storage we’ll be able to store excess green energy to use when demand on the national grid is high.

We expect the solar park to have a lifetime of 40 years, during which we’d set the land not needed for the panels to wildflower, helping the pollinators and insects the country needs so desperately. After the operational life of the project, the solar park would be decommissioned and it is expected the land would return to intensive agricultural production.

We already have a wealth of information on the site from the previous wind park application, but more assessments have been completed to supplement these, including new ecology surveys which confirmed the land is of limited value to wildlife due to the intensive arable farming of the land which is normally used to grow crops for animal feed.

Heckington Fen Solar Park will be an important step forward in moving the UK away from fossil fuels and helping to fight the climate crisis, as well as providing long-term energy security for Britain.

The UK has ambitious climate change targets to achieve net zero by 2050, going further than the previous target of 80% reduction from the 1990 baseline as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. Legally binding commitments such as these mean that we need to increase our renewable energy capacity to achieve the goal of reducing carbon emissions.

Skylarks, water voles, dragonflies and pollinators are some of the species that would benefit from the proposed environmental habitat management plan, with generous setbacks to existing drainage ditches creating habitat corridors. You can find out more information about how impacts on wildlife have been considered when designing the solar park by viewing a copy of the consultation booklet. More detail can also be found in the non technical summary (NTS) of which can be found on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

The anticipated yearly generation of over 385 gigawatt hours (GWh) is nearly three times that of the approved wind park and would power the equivalent of over 100,000 homes with green electricity, as well as providing energy storage to help with supply and demand of electricity on the grid network.

Energy storage will play a key role in achieving net zero, providing flexibility to the grid so that high volumes of low carbon power such as wind and solar can be integrated.

400,000kW (400MW x 1000) x 8,766 (number of hours in a year 365.25days to account for leap years * 24hours) x 0.11 (calculated using a capacity factor sourced from DUKES averaged over five years, (DUKES 6.3, BEIS 2022)) = 385,704,000kWh.

Based on this annual electricity generation figure of 385GWh, we estimate that the proposed solar park could supply renewable electricity equivalent to the approximate annual domestic needs of some 133,000 typical UK households per annum (385,704,000kWh ÷ 2,900kWh) based on Ofgem Typical Domestic Consumption Values.

Using electricity consumptions figures by BEIS (2023 update) the number of homes powered could be some 104,000 (385,704,000kWh ÷ 3,709kWh), or using a local average of electricity supply for North Kesteven 99,485 homes (385,704,000kWh ÷ 3,877kWh) due to the higher than average electricity use locally.

Capacity factor, or load factor, is a term often used to consider the performance of solar parks (and other forms of generation). It means how much electricity a site generates in a year compared to how much electricity could theoretically have been generated if it were producing at maximum output continuously. An industry standard is to use an average capacity factor over five years for the purposes of these calculations, these can be found at the BEIS link below.

Estimated Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Savings: To predict the estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied from the solar park to the grid, the current grid mix is considered, which comprises all fuels, including nuclear and renewables. The 2021 figure is 198 tonnes of CO2 per GWh of electricity supplied (DUKES 5.14, BEIS 2022), meaning the proposed solar park could result in a yearly saving of 76,369 tonnes of CO2. The proposed solar park will, therefore, make a positive contribution towards the UK Government’s climate change objectives. This calculation is 385,704,000/1,000,000 (kWh to GWh) * 198gCO2/kWh = 76,369 tonnes per year.

Local domestic household consumption in North Kesteven totals some 200GWh per annum, therefore the 385GWh the solar park could produce is well in excessive of this. This data is based on BEIS ‘regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics’ (BEIS, 2022)

The calculation for the equivalent number of cars being taken off the road is based off HyNet’s website:

HyNet calculated noted that by 2030 they would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 million tonnes every year – the equivalent of taking 4 million cars off the road. Using this equation,10,000,000 by 4,000,000 results in 2.5 tonnes per car. To make this site specific, 75,000 tonnes divided by 2.5 results in the equivalent of 30,000 cars. Further references can be provided upon request.  

BEIS. 2023 Update - dated 2005 - 2021. Regional and local authority electricity consumption statistics

DUKES TABLE 6.3, BEIS. 2022. Renewable sources of energy

Ofgem. 2020. Typical Domestic Consumption Values

DUKES 5.14, BEIS. 2022. Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied (DUKES 5.14)

HyNet. 2022. Cars off the road