The Project
RES is exploring the opportunity to develop a nationally significant renewables project on land at Sturton-le-Steeple, Nottinghamshire.
Collectively, our early proposals consist of up to 400MW of solar energy generation and 200MW of battery storage to help store energy for when it is most needed.
RES is also investigating the possibility of incorporating other renewable technologies into the proposals.
If consented, it is anticipated that Steeple Renewables Project will be capable of producing clean, green electricity for approximately 156,884 homes every year, around 45% of all homes in Nottinghamshire. [1]
The Opportunity
There is now widespread recognition that the UK, and the rest of the world, is in a climate emergency. To help address climate change the UK has committed to reaching net-zero by 2050, requiring us to quadruple our low-carbon electricity generation.
As you may be aware, West Burton Power Station has recently been decommissioned. This has released grid capacity adjacent to the land where we are looking to bring forward a renewables project. We have secured a connection agreement with National Grid to utilise this grid capacity. We believe that our proposals, alongside other energy projects in the local area, present an opportunity for this part of Nottinghamshire to continue its historic role of helping to power the UK.
Why have we chosen this site?
We are in the early stages of considering a number of parcels of land near to the village of Sturton-le-Steeple to bring forward a renewable energy project.
The plan to the right indicates the areas of land under consideration, the full extent and usage of land will be confirmed in our next stage of consultation in 2024.
The decommissioning of West Burton Power Station has unlocked an opportunity to utilise the existing grid infrastructure and grid capacity at West Burton Power Station. If the project is progressed, this proximity to the grid will also help to reduce local impacts, limiting the amount of new infrastructure that would otherwise be required to access the grid.
Land under consideration
Click on image to enlarge
We believe that the land we are exploring at Sturton-le-Steeple is perfectly placed to deliver a project that can help the UK reach its decarbonisation goals, whilst minimising impacts on the local community. Steeple Renewables Project presents an opportunity for this part of Nottinghamshire to continue its historic role of helping to power the UK.
[1] The homes figure has been calculated by taking the predicted average annual electricity generation of the site and dividing this by the annual average electricity figures from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that the annual UK average domestic household consumption is 3,748 kWh (Dec 2021).