Project Updates
Get the latest updates and developments for Kitland Solar Farm here.
Latest news
We are pleased to announce that Kitland Solar Farm has been approved.
Kitland Solar Farm will help generate renewable energy for over 13,000 homes and support North Somerset Council’s pledge to become net zero by 2030.
We submitted a planning application in May 2024 and we would like to thank all those whose comments have shaped our proposals.
After carrying out a national review of how our community benefit funding works, we are increasing the amount of money available through the community benefit fund on all our future solar projects, including Kitland Solar Farm.
The amount of community benefit funding will increase from £200 per MW to £400 per MW. This means that over the project’s operational lifetime of 40 years the fund is estimated to be worth over £600,000.
Solar Energy UK has published its second Solar Habitat report, looking at trends and observations from 87 solar farms in the UK, highlighting how solar farms and their management can interact with local biodiversity. You can read the Solar Habitat 2024 here.
Our plans have a number of biodiversity benefits, these include approximately 117% net gain in habitats, over 50% net gain in hedgerows and 24% net gain in wetland habitats.
Plans have recently been submitted to North Somerset Council for a solar farm north of Langford which, if consented, will have the potential to generate renewable electricity equivalent to the needs of over 13,000 homes every year.
Our plans have been informed by feedback from the pre-application public consultation that we carried out with the local community. In addition to the clean green energy the project will deliver a range of biodiversity and recreational benefits with around 3.5km of new paths being created.
You can view the full planning application through North Somerset Council. If you would like to be kept informed with project news, please get in touch.
Statkraft is grateful to everyone from the local community who attended our public consultation events for Kitland Solar Farm.
We were pleased to welcome over 100 visitors to the in-person consultation held on 24 January at Mendip Spring Golf and Country Club. We also held an online exhibition on a dedicated web site from 24 January – 9 February for those who couldn’t attend in person.
At the events, residents were able to view our revised proposals, provide feedback on the proposals and ask the development team questions.
Next Steps
We are planning to submit our application in Spring this year. The application will set out how feedback has been considered and shaped our proposals.
Local residents will be able to submit representations to North Somerset Council on the application submitted which will be available to view on both the local Authority and this website at that time. In the meantime you can view the consultation materials here.
Over 1,500 households and businesses have received an invitation to find out more about our plans for Kitland Solar Farm.
We are looking forward to meeting the local community to present our proposals. The project team will be on hand to answer any questions and listen to your feedback.
The in-person public exhibition will be held on:
Wednesday 24 January 2024, 3.30pm - 8.30pm
Mendip Spring Golf and Country Club, BS49 5JT
For those unable to attend the in-person event we encourage you to visit our online event which will run from 24 January - 9 February. All the information displayed at the in-person event will be available.
We are aiming to submit an application to North Somerset Council later this year. As always, this website will be kept updated throughout the development period to keep you informed, and you can contact us with your questions or tell us what you think.
We are pleased to have submitted an Environmental Impact Asessessment Screening Request to North Somerset Council to progress our plans for Kitland Solar Farm, located close to Langford.
As part of the development we are also considering the opportunity for a battery energy storage system (BESS) which stores electricity and feeds it back into the energy network at times of high demand.
This is not a planning application, but is the earliest stage of the planning process to help inform the key studies that will be required to be undertaken and included in any future planning application.
We are committed to engaging with local communities and hearing their views and look forward to sharing more details of our emerging plans this Autumn.