Green Nation has released updated plans for its Whitestone Solar Farm showing a reduction of the area that will be covered by solar PV panels.
In an effort to respond to the consultation as promptly as possible, to assure the community their feedback is being taken on board, the developer has announced the size reduction while still undergoing engineering assessments, Solar Power Portal heard.
As a result, it cannot yet state what the updated proposals’ capacity will be.
Whitestone is a proposed solar power plant brought forward by developer Green Nation that would be sited between Rotherham and Doncaster and connect to the National Grid at Brinsworth Substation.
When plans were first published by Green Nation, it was confirmed to Solar Power Portal that the final development could supply up to 750MW to the National Grid while additionally featuring a battery energy storage system (BESS) of an unconfirmed capacity.
The UK-based solar developer held a first round of consultation on the planned project between November 2024 and the end of January 2025.
In response to the feedback received, 279 hectares that would have been covered by the solar installation will now not have any above-ground infrastructure. Some of this space will instead be used for environmental enhancement and mitigation, and grasses and wildflowers will be planted to support wildlife and increase biodiversity.
The area for solar development and associated infrastructure would, as a result, only cover around half of the total site area. Green Nation also said that the new proposals allow more space between homes and villages near the project boundary and the PV arrays.
Green Nation is aiming to submit its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the UK government in spring 2026. A second consultation round is due to be held in autumn this year.
Community voices in the NSIP process
Due to its initially proposed size of 750MW, Whitestone solar is considered a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP). This means that it will circumvent the local planning authority to be approved (or not) by the government.
While it is government policy to rapidly increase the country’s solar capacity by 2030, local pushback against utility-scale solar power plants across the UK has been growing in fervor, and it is important that developers respond appropriately.
One way in which developers can try to assuage community dissent is to act on the issues raised during consultation. Green Nation’s size reduction in this case is a good example of how a developer might improve local feeling.
Another example of how developers can reassure locals is the Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park, renamed to reflect a partnership with local nature charities in response to community feedback received by developer Elements Green.
The solar firm has also adjusted the scale and layout of the development, reducing the project area and ensuring larger margins between local property and the solar panels.
