The Project
RES is exploring the opportunity to develop a nationally significant renewables project on land at Sturton-le-Steeple, Nottinghamshire.
Collectively, our early proposals consist of up to 400MW of solar energy generation and 200MW of battery storage to help store energy for when it is most needed.
RES is also investigating the possibility of incorporating other renewable technologies into the proposals.
If consented, it is anticipated that Steeple Renewables Project will be capable of producing clean, green electricity for approximately 156,884 homes every year, around 45% of all homes in Nottinghamshire. [1]
The Opportunity
There is now widespread recognition that the UK, and the rest of the world, is in a climate emergency. To help address climate change the UK has committed to reaching net-zero by 2050, requiring us to quadruple our low-carbon electricity generation.
As you may be aware, West Burton Power Station has recently been decommissioned. This has released grid capacity adjacent to the land where we are looking to bring forward a renewables project. We have secured a connection agreement with National Grid to utilise this grid capacity. We believe that our proposals, alongside other energy projects in the local area, present an opportunity for this part of Nottinghamshire to continue its historic role of helping to power the UK.
Steeple Renewables Project could:
Generate up to 400MW of renewable energy, enough to power around half of the homes in Nottinghamshire, every year
Support the UK’s targets to reach net-zero by 2050
Utilise electricity grid capacity made available from the decommissioning of the adjacent West Burton Power Station
Provide a community benefits package tailored to the needs and priorities of the local community, including a Local Electricity Discount Scheme
Deliver £224 million of investment into the construction of the scheme, providing a boost to the local construction sector[2]
Create 400 jobs over the 24-month build programme, supporting skills and employment in the local community[3]
Enable continued agricultural use of the land alongside the renewable energy project
[1] The homes figure has been calculated by taking the predicted average annual electricity generation of the site and dividing this by the annual average electricity figures from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that the annual UK average domestic household consumption is 3,748 kWh (Dec 2021).
[2] Based on information provided by the client, a value of £560,000 per MW has been used to calculate construction cost. This cost per MW is multiplied by 400MW, an approximate figure for the generation capacity of the project, to reach a total construction cost of around £224 million.
[3] Based on previous experience of other solar farms, the construction phase could support around 1 job per MW during the peak of the construction phase, therefore Steeple could support in the region of 400 jobs.