Thorne and Crowle solar farm could power 'thousands of homes' - firm

Plans for a major new solar farm straddling land in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire have been announced.

German utility company RWE said it wanted to build the 600-megawatt energy farm next to its Tween Bridge onshore wind farm, near Doncaster.

The project, also called Tween Bridge, could be operational by 2029, according to RWE.

The firm said the solar farm could "provide thousands of homes and businesses with renewable electricity".

Once its proposals were finalised for the site between Crowle and Thorne, it would apply for planning permission from the Planning Inspectorate, RWE said.

The company, which already operates Tween Bridge Onshore Wind Farm, stressed the new development would not need "any additional overhead power lines or further network infrastructure".

Katja Wünschel, RWE's chief executive, said: "Our strategy is geared towards sustainability and the vigorous expansion of large scale solar will be part of these ambitions."

Once constructed, the site as a whole would host solar power generation, battery storage, onshore wind and animal husbandry, RWE said.

The company said it planned for the Tween Bridge solar site to become "one of the largest lowland sheep farms in the country".

An opportunity had also been identified for a bee farm on the site, it added.

According to a statement released by RWE, it now planned to undertake a detailed environmental survey.

It had begun "early discussions with landowners and planning authorities" about the site's design and layout, RWE said.

Informal consultations about the proposal would take place during spring 2023, it added.

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