UK Solar Farm Data: How Many, the Biggest & Approvals by County

Methodology & caveats

• Source: the UK Government (DESNZ) Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), Q1 2026 extract. The REPD records renewable projects of 150kW and above.
• Scope: "Solar Photovoltaics" and "Battery" technology types only. Because the REPD threshold is 150kW, the solar figures include large commercial rooftop systems as well as ground-mounted solar farms, so we rank counties by capacity (MW) rather than project count.
• Time window: records whose "Record Last Updated" date falls within the last 24 months (since 2024-06-06), to reflect current activity rather than historic applications.
• Status grouping: "Approved" = Operational, Under Construction, Awaiting Construction or Application Granted. "In planning" = Application Submitted, Revised or Appeal Lodged. "Refused" = Application or Appeal Refused. Withdrawn, abandoned and expired records are excluded.
• Acreage: derived from the REPD "Solar Site Area" field, which is populated for 43% of solar records in the window, so acreage understates the true total and is shown as "where reported". Capacity (MW) and counts are complete.
• Counties: as recorded in the REPD "County" field. A small number of records carry no county and appear only in the UK totals. Some of the very largest schemes (Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects) may be consented through a separate process; cross-check headline county totals against known major schemes before quoting.

Frequently asked questions

Which UK county has the most solar farms?

Lincolnshire has the most grid-scale solar capacity in the planning pipeline and operation, with roughly 5,639 MW across 60 approved and 21 in-planning projects in the last 24 months. Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire follow.

What is the biggest solar farm in the UK?

The largest solar farm project in the UK is Botley West Solar Project in Oxfordshire, at 840 MW (Application Submitted). Capacity at this scale is measured in megawatts, and the very largest UK schemes are Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects of several hundred MW each.

How many solar farms have been approved in the UK?

UK planning records show 1,704 grid-scale solar projects approved or built in the last 24 months, with a further 619 in planning. Together they represent about 33,934 MW of capacity.

What share of solar planning applications get approved?

About 95% of decided UK solar applications in the window were approved (1,704 approved versus 87 refused). Solar has one of the higher approval rates of any infrastructure type, though the largest schemes attract the most local objection.

What is the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD)?

The REPD is the UK Government's official register of renewable energy projects of 150kW and above, published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and updated regularly. It tracks each project's technology, capacity, location and planning status. This page aggregates the solar and battery records by county and region.

How much land do UK solar farms cover?

Across the solar records that report a site area, UK projects in the last 24 months cover about 142,067 acres. The true figure is higher, because only 43% of solar records include a site area. For context, a typical 1 MW solar farm needs roughly 4 to 6 acres.