Solar farm near Bristol calls for easier connection process

Larks Green Solar Farm has more than 150,000 solar panels

The company behind the UK's first solar farm to be directly connected to the National Grid has urged ministers to make the process easier.

Larks Green Solar Farm, near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, has more than 150,000 solar panels on 260 acres of green belt land.

It is calling for an easing of the planning and connection process for renewable infrastructure.

The government said it recognises the challenge of connection delays.

A new wind farm or solar site can only start supplying energy to people's homes once it has been plugged into the National Grid's high voltage network.

Lark Green is connected directly to the grid and can produce 50 megawatts of energy - enough to power around 17,000 homes.

The UK currently has a 2035 target for 100% of its electricity to be produced without carbon emissions

Huge storage batteries are due to be installed on the site and be operational by the end of next year, meaning energy produced at peak times can be stored and fed into the grid at a later date.

The project has been jointly run by the National Grid, Cero Generation and Enso Energy.

Simon Wheeler, the director of development at Enso Energy, said: "One of the big constraints facing the energy industry is grid capacity and connections to the various points of the network.

"This site has been put forward on several occasions for a solar farm but the infrastructure wasn't there to support it."

The backlog to connect energy sites to the grid is causing delays of more than a decade to some renewable projects, the BBC revealed earlier this month.

The National Grid has admitted there is a problem but said fundamental reform is needed.

Lark Green is connected directly to the National Grid

According to Mr Wheeler, "the key thing for a project like this is having land, getting a site through planning, and the grid connections".

"The last two are typically the most challenging, so whatever can be done to help is good for the government's ambitions to reach net zero," he added.

The UK currently has a 2035 target for 100% of its electricity to be produced without carbon emissions.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "We have connected the second highest amount of renewable electricity in Europe since 2010 but we recognise the challenge of connection delays."