Plan launched to build the UK's biggest solar farm on huge chunk of countryside spreading into Milton Keynes

The Green Hill Solar Farm would consist of eight different sites spanning almost as far as Wellingborough, all linked by cables.

Together they would generate a massive 500 Megawatts, enough to power 115,000 homes.

The company behind the scheme, London-based Island Green Power, is already undertaking land surveys and assessments and plans to hold public consultations later this year.

They choose sites on land south and west of Wellingborough and north of Northampton some time ago. But this month they tweaked the proposal to include additional land to the north-east of Warrington, near Olney, in Milton Keynes.

Today (Thursday) a spokesperson for Island Green spoke to the Citizen – but would not reveal the exact local of the MK site.

"It’s private land. The landowner expressed an interest in what we were doing and we went to look at it. But at this stage we are not giving the precise details,” they said.

The spokesperson pledged that the company would engage with the local community and take people’s views into account in order to “minimise the impact” of the huge project.

"We are currently undertaking early land surveys and assessments to determine the proposed site layout and cable route. Further details, including an indicative site layout, will be made available ahead of our public consultation.”

The proposed development is so big that it is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, and Island Green will have to apply for a Development Consent Order under the Planning Act 2008. 

If permission is granted, construction would be expected to start in 2027 with electricity being served to the grid from 2029.

In 2019 Milton Keynes Council’s three political groups agreed a climate emergency and councillors have since committed to the ambition of the city becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and carbon negative by 2050.

The council’s Sustainability Strategy 2019 – 2050 sets out its long-term vision to create a world-leading sustainable city that embraces innovation, creates high-quality jobs and recognises it has a vital role in tackling the global challenges of climate change.