Sunnica solar farm decision delayed on Suffolk/Cambs border

A consultation on the plans ended in 2022

The government has delayed a decision on a 2,500-acre solar farm for a fourth time.

Sunnica said its energy farm on the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border would cost about £600m, operate for 40 years and provide thousands of jobs.

The deadline for a decision on whether construction can go ahead has been moved to 20 June.

The MP for West Suffolk, Matt Hancock, said: "It's time to put a stop to Sunnica once and for all."

A spokesperson for Sunnica said: "The UK needs to double the amount of renewable energy it generates by 2050.

"Sunnica would make a significant contribution to this goal."

A decision had originally been due in September 2023, but that was pushed back until December and that was then moved to March.

No reason has been given by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Campaigners have criticised the project

Mr Hancock, the former Conservative cabinet minister and now an independent MP, has criticised the project.

"I am a strong supporter of solar energy but the Sunnica development is dangerous and in the wrong place," he said.

"It needs to be rejected and the developers need to think again."

East Cambridgeshire District Council and Suffolk County Council have both opposed the plans.

Sunnica claims the land used would be decontaminated and returned to its original - largely agricultural - use once the scheme is finished.

The company said its solar farm would power 172,000 homes and create 1,500 jobs during construction. Once completed there would be 27 full-time jobs running it.

The energy farm was originally split across four sites, but rejigged plans mean it is now three sites connected by underground cables to each other and to the National Grid at Burwell substation.

The sites are:

• Sunnica East Site A, near West Row and Mildenhall in Suffolk

• Sunnica East Site B, south of the village of Worlington, near Mildenhall

• Sunnica West Site A, near Newmarket north of the A14 in Cambridgeshire