Located in Norfolk, approximately 1.5km southwest of Dereham and extending west of Swaffham, the High Grove Solar Farm will provide 720MW of clean energy – enough to power the equivalent of 363,000 typical UK households each year and displacing over 24.8M tonnes of CO2 from equivalent fossil fuel energy.
Project introduction
Facts & figures
00
MW
of clean energy
00
homes
powered with electricity
over
00
M tonnes
of CO₂ displaced from equivalent fossil fuel energy
Early consultation now open!
RWE values the input of the local community and will ensure that local perspectives are considered throughout the design process. High Grove is currently at a preliminary design phase, and this consultation is an early opportunity for local people to provide feedback that, where appropriate, will influence the design of the project. This early consultation will run from Monday 9 September 2024 to Friday 18 October 2024. A further round of consultation, known as a ‘statutory consultation’, required as part of the Development Consent Order process, will follow in early 2025.
We would like to invite you to have your say by completing our feedback form here and exploring our proposals on an interactive map here, where you can leave comments too! We are using Commonplace as our virtual consultation tool to collect your feedback.
If you would like to find out more about the project, please read on, where information is provided about the proposals, the need for solar, and the project’s benefits. Further detail on the proposals can also be found in our Consultation Brochure, which can be viewed here. Alternatively, come and find us at one of our in-person events, or join a virtual webinar. The details of these in-person events and virtual webinars are shown in the table below.
| Date and time | Location |
| Tuesday 17 September, 2.00pm - 7.00pm | Regency Room, Swaffham Assembly Rooms, Swaffham PE37 7AB |
| Wednesday 18 September, 10.30am - 2.30pm | Scarning Village Hall, Scarning, NR19 2PF |
| Thursday 19 September, 7.00pm - 8.00pm | Online webinar (register here) |
| Friday 27 September, 2.00pm - 7.00pm | Letton Hall, Shipdham, Thetford IP25 7SA |
| Saturday 28 September, 10.30am - 2.30pm | Ashill Community Centre, IP25 7AX |
| Tuesday 1 October, 12.00pm - 1.00pm | Online webinar (register here) |
| Tuesday 1 October, 6.30pm - 7.30pm | Online webinar (register here) |
| Friday 4 October, 1.00pm - 6.00pm | Necton Community Centre, PE37 8EH |
| Saturday 5 October, 10.30am - 2.30pm | Sporle Village Hall, PE32 2DR |
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The need for solar
Solar power is a vital part of the energy mix helping the UK to meet its net zero targets, while becoming less reliant on expensive fossil fuel imports for electricity and heating.
The UK has a legally binding commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. As one of the cheapest and most rapidly deployable forms of renewable energy, solar will play an important role in achieving this commitment.
The UK Government has set an ambition of reaching 70GW of installed solar capacity by 2035, a five-fold increase in the current installed capacity, and our proposals for High Grove will make a key contribution towards achieving this ambition. Recent announcements by the Government following the general election have reinforced the UK’s commitment to renewable energy, including substantial investments in solar power infrastructure and strengthened policy support for accelerating the deployment of solar technologies.
Our proposals
High Grove is a solar and battery storage project that would provide 720MW of clean energy. The project is distributed across five distinct Proposed Development Areas in Norfolk, about 1.5 kilometres southwest of Dereham, 2 kilometres east of Necton, and 2 kilometres north of Watton.
A site location plan indicating each of the Proposed Development Areas is shown on the right. Please refer to the Consultation Brochure or our interactive map for further detail on our initial proposals for each Proposed Development Area, which comprise a combination of electrical infrastructure (such as solar panels) and mitigation/enhancement measures (such as planting and new permissive paths).
Click on the image to zoom
Project benefits
CO2
Contributing 720MW of clean electricity to the national grid, enough to power the equivalent of approximately 363,000 homes, and displacing over 24.8M tonnes of CO2 from equivalent fossil fuel energy - that equates to taking 368,573 cars off the road for a year!
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CO2
Batteries
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) on-site, ensuring the solar farm can be as flexible as possible in delivering energy to the grid.
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Batteries
Community Benefit Fund
A community benefit fund of up to £11.5 million to support local community groups and initiatives, seeking your ideas on the important causes.
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Community Benefit Fund
Grazing
Over 95% of the solar panel areas can be used for sheep grazing, maintaining agricultural use and promoting topsoil recovery by increasing organic matter and improving soil structure.
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Grazing
Biodiversity Net Gain
Over 50% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) to be delivered on-site, providing new and improved habitats, such as wildflower meadows, grassland areas, bird and bat nesting boxes, and beehives.
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Biodiversity Net Gain
Landscape and Ecology
Providing additional opportunities for public recreation, with proposed new footpaths, outdoor picnic areas and benches.
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Landscape and Ecology
Green Infrastructure
Several kilometres of new native hedgerow and trees including a mix of mature and semi-mature tree planting to further improve visual screening and habitat creation.
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Green Infrastructure
Business Rates
Over £48 million generated in business rates over the lifetime of the project, to be used by Breckland Council to fund important local services.
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Business Rates
The DCO process
As the project will generate more than 50MW of power, it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and requires consent via the Development Consent Order (DCO) planning process. The DCO process provides a dedicated framework specifically designed to address the complexities associated with large, complex energy projects (as well as other project types).
The project is currently at the pre-application stage and we expect to submit our DCO application in Autumn 2025. Applications for DCOs are examined independently by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). Following an Examination of the project, which typically takes place over a six month period, the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who will decide whether or not to grant the DCO.
Consultation is an important part of the DCO process as it enables everyone to comment on the proposals. The feedback received, along with further technical work and environmental studies, will inform the development of our proposals ahead of the submission of our DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate.
For further information about the DCO process and our planned timeline for the project please refer to our Consultation Brochure.