The Springwell solar park has secured a major planning milestone after the UK Government granted it a Development Consent Order (DCO), enabling the project to progress towards construction (EDF press release, 08/04/2026).
Located between Sleaford and Lincoln in Lincolnshire, the park is set to become the UK’s largest solar project in terms of power generation, with a total capacity of 800 MW. The project is being developed in partnership by EDF subsidiary EDF Power Solutions UK and UK-based Luminous Energy. The site is expected to start producing electricity in 2029.
Additionally, Norway’s Statkraft has launched public consultations on plans for a 500 MW solar park in East Yorkshire (Statkraft press release, 08/04/2026). The statutory consultation on the Mylen Leah solar park runs from 16 April to 28 May 2026. Statkraft stated that it plans to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) in late 2026.
Since 2010, solar capacity has been growing by 1.2 GW/year on average, reaching 17.5 GW at the end of 2024. Solar accounted for 5% of the power generation mix and 16% of installed power capacity in 2024 (Enerdata Global Energy Research).