Solar planning in the UK
7,460 solar applications in the government planning database. 1,011 are in planning, 19 GW between them.
Alerts for solar applications near you
An email when a battery storage, solar or wind application near your postcode is added or decided, or an incident is recorded nearby. Free, nothing else, one click to stop.
By signing up you agree to the privacy policy. UK planning data is from the government's planning database, updated monthly.
Councils with the most solar applications
| Planning authority | Applications | In planning | Granted or being built | Operating | Refused, withdrawn or closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall | 174 | 11 | 46 | 88 | 29 |
| Somerset | 173 | 18 | 50 | 74 | 31 |
| North Yorkshire | 139 | 26 | 85 | 17 | 11 |
| Wiltshire | 129 | 18 | 57 | 43 | 11 |
| Dorset | 118 | 9 | 50 | 40 | 19 |
| Shropshire | 87 | 16 | 40 | 23 | 8 |
| West Northamptonshire | 84 | 20 | 39 | 17 | 8 |
| Buckinghamshire | 79 | 11 | 42 | 13 | 13 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 70 | 7 | 54 | 5 | 4 |
| South Gloucestershire | 64 | 6 | 43 | 13 | 2 |
| County Durham | 63 | 12 | 39 | 4 | 8 |
| Leeds | 63 | 6 | 52 | 4 | 1 |
| North Northamptonshire | 57 | 13 | 28 | 8 | 8 |
| Birmingham | 55 | 10 | 44 | 0 | 1 |
| Milton Keynes | 55 | 5 | 36 | 10 | 4 |
| Manchester | 53 | 4 | 38 | 5 | 6 |
| Westmorland and Furness | 53 | 5 | 21 | 10 | 17 |
| Central Bedfordshire | 50 | 7 | 20 | 11 | 12 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 50 | 6 | 19 | 15 | 10 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 49 | 9 | 34 | 4 | 2 |
| Test Valley | 48 | 5 | 20 | 16 | 7 |
| East Suffolk | 47 | 9 | 24 | 12 | 2 |
| Aberdeenshire | 46 | 5 | 32 | 5 | 4 |
| Cherwell | 45 | 7 | 26 | 11 | 1 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 44 | 2 | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| North Somerset | 44 | 5 | 28 | 8 | 3 |
| Wakefield | 43 | 9 | 30 | 3 | 1 |
| North Lincolnshire | 42 | 9 | 25 | 3 | 5 |
| Northumberland | 42 | 8 | 31 | 2 | 1 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 42 | 4 | 21 | 11 | 6 |
Every planning authority · Battery storage planning · Wind farm planning
Newest solar applications
- Whitestone Solar Farm
- Good Hope Hospital, Rectory Road - Solar Panels
- Jack Arnold, Lancaster Way - Solar Panels
- Charnock Hall Primary School, Carter Hall Road - Solar Panels
- Crawfurd Street - Solar Panels
- St Georges Retail Park, St Georges Way - Solar Panels
- Northern Gateway Distribution Centre,Central Road North - Solar Panels
- Buzz Bingo, Denby Dale Road - Solar Panels
- Arnold Clark Blackpool Vauxhall, Whitehills Business Park - Solar Panels
- Steamboat Way, Glasshoughton - Solar Panels
- Broadwater Mouldings, Benacre Road - Solar Panels
- Fieldhead Hospital, Ouchthorpe Lane - Solar Carport
- Stourhead, Near Mere - Solar Array
- Noble Foods, Barton Road - Solar Panels
- Contra House, Oak Close - Solar Panels
Latest decisions
- Green Hill Solar Farm & Battery Storage
- Kintore - Solar Photovoltaic Array
- Beacon Fen Energy Park
- One Earth Solar Farm
- Dean Moor Solar Farm & Battery Storage
- Peartree Hill Solar Farm
- James Paget University Hospital, Lowestoft Road - Solar Panels
- Burrage Centre, James Paget University Hospital - Solar Panels
- Kettering Buccleuch Academy, Weekley Glebe Road - Solar Panels
- West Middlesex University Hospital,Twickenham Road - Solar PV Panels
- Heath Lane Academy, Heath Lane - Solar Panels
- The Galleries, Washington Town Centre - Solar PV Panels
- Edgbarrow School, Grant Road - Solar Panels
- Sainsburys, Wade Street - Solar Panels
- Sainsburys, Oxford Road - Solar Panels
Solar incidents
The register holds 315 solar incidents worldwide, 84 of them in the UK, each with its sources. Counts of incidents in published reporting, not rates: more installations, and more open reporting, mean more entries.
- Solar panels involved in fire that destroyed a Sidmouth bungalow
- Fire at Wheat Leasows solar farm in Telford involves an electricity pylon
- Fire under solar panels at Broadclyst brought under control
- Rooftop solar panel fire guts NHS mental health ward in Malton
- Faulty solar panel wiring sparks house fire in Stoke-on-Trent
- Fire damages solar panel batteries in a Teignmouth garage
- Solar inverter fire on agricultural building in Shropshire
- Fire involving solar panels at a Market Harborough house spreads to an adjoining property
For a planning case
The planning evidence pack sets out, for one application for a solar site, every comparable incident nearest first with its sources, the schemes refused, withdrawn or taken to appeal nearby, and the fire service guidance each incident bears on. Launch price: £145 until 31 October (normally £295). Download a sample pack (PDF).
Data updated 3 August 2026 from the Renewable Energy Planning Database (DESNZ), published quarterly.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Renewable Energy Planning Database, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). The dataset. The register adds only the incidents and the counts.