The solar farm will deliver energy equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 9,250 UK homes and the project will significantly boost biodiversity, delivering a net gain of more than 123% in habitat units.
- Project includes a solar farm of approximately 34 MWp and battery energy storage system with a capacity of
- Exagen’s third planning consent following approval on 520MW of battery storage systems in Leicestershire and Gloucestershire in 2024.
- The planning application was submitted to both Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwick District Council in October 2023 as the project is split across the two council areas.
- Following an appeal, planning approval was issued on the 30th January 2025.
Exagen, a UK renewable energy developer, has announced that it has received planning permission for the Holly Lane Energy Park, marking Exagen’s first planning consent of 2025.
Following an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, the solar and battery project will now progress through the next stages of development – and once operational, it will generate power equivalent to approximately 9,200 homes with clean electricity.
The 34MWp solar farm (in Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council) will be connected to the substation via a buried cable that follows the public highway between the two parcels. The 75MW battery storage system will be co-located with a new substation (in Warwick District Council), adjacent to the point of connection into the 132kV overhead line which crosses the smaller eastern site.
The project has specifically been designed to have limited visual impacts, with substantial existing mature screening from hedges around the site and set back from any nearby residential properties.
The timing of the appeal decision is critical with the project having an accelerated grid connection date in 2027. Exagen’s focus is now on getting the project ready to build so it can begin generating renewable energy for the UK grid.
In January 2024, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council agreed a report for its net zero commitments. This showed that 430MW of renewable energy generation capacity is required by 2041, of which just 10.6MW is currently installed. The Holly Lane solar farm will contribute 6% of the capacity required to meet the council’s target.
This project demonstrates Exagen’s commitment to the UK’s target of a fully decarbonised electricity system by 2035 through building, owning, and operating renewable energy generation projects.
Public consultation began in April 2023 and included three events and multiple meetings, gathering feedback from residents, and has enabled Exagen to design an appropriate development for the available grid capacity within the land available. This engagement will continue into the construction and operational phases with the establishment of a community benefit fund, to be tied to the project for its lifetime. Further information will be published on this in due course.
Andrew Mott, Head of Planning and Environment at Exagen said:
'For the UK to achieve its 2050 net zero target at the lowest possible cost, there needs to be an increase in deployment of renewable energy generation alongside energy storage; to meet targets around 3 projects of this size need to be approved and constructed every week.
As more of these projects are developed, it is vital that they are developed sensitively. We’ve been guided by our independent consultant team to deliver a project with very limited impacts; the site benefits from substantial existing mature screening and is set back from any nearby residential properties. It is unobtrusive and balances national need with local benefit.
We are now working to prepare for construction and make the most of an accelerated grid connection date. Further details on the project community benefit fund will also be released in due course.
We welcome both the thoroughness with which the planning inspectorate considered the appeal, and the timeliness of their decision, coming just 2 weeks after the hearing was held.'
Source: Exagen
