Sunnica Energy Farm: Decision on £600m solar farm delayed again

The proposed energy farm would span about 2,500 acres around several villages in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire

A decision on whether a controversial large solar farm on the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border should go ahead or not has been postponed.

The proposed Sunnica Energy Farm would span about 2,500 acres around several villages across both counties.

Previously, it had been criticised for being "wholly out of character" with the surrounding areas.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is expected to announced the next deadline date later.

The solar farm would cover four sites - two to the north of Newmarket and two to the south-west of Mildenhall

It is the second time the government has delayed announcing a decision on the project, which would be one of the largest in Europe.

A Sunnica spokesman said: "We note that the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has extended the decision period for Sunnica.

"The UK needs to double the amount of renewable energy it generates by 2050. Sunnica would make a significant contribution to this goal."

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The company claimed the solar farm project would have a 40-year lifespan and the land used would be decontaminated and returned to its original - largely agricultural - use, once the scheme is finished.

It added that the solar farm would power 172,000 homes and create 1,500 jobs during construction. Once completed there would be 27 full time jobs running the farm, it said.

It is understood more than £7m has already been spent on the project

East Cambridgeshire and Suffolk County Councils both opposed the plans.

The energy farm would be split across three separate 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; Sunnica East Site B, south of the village of Worlington - and Sunnica West Site A, near Newmarket north of the A14.