The government has approved a solar energy project in Lincolnshire, poised to become the UK’s largest by power generation.
The Springwell Solar Farm, an 800-megawatt development, will feature battery storage and grid connection infrastructure in North Kesteven.
Developers claim it could power over 180,000 homes annually, equivalent to half the households across Lincolnshire.
Energy minister Michael Shanks said: “We are driving further and faster for clean homegrown power that we control to protect the British people and bring down bills for good.
“It is crucial we learn the lessons of the conflict in the Middle East – solar is one of the cheapest forms of power available and is how we get off the rollercoaster of international fossil fuel markets and secure our own energy independence.”
Springwell is the 25th nationally significant clean energy project approved by the Government since it came into office, which it says together will provide enough energy to power the equivalent of more than 12.5 million homes.
It comes alongside recent measures to roll out plug-in solar in UK stores, fitting solar on homes as standard and fast-tracking the next renewables auction to July this year.
Earlier this month, it was revealed renewables generated a record share of the UK’s electricity in 2025, according to provisional figures from the Energy Department (Desnz).
The data, released on Thursday, shows that output from renewable technologies such as wind and solar accounted for 52.5 per cent of electricity generation last year.
Together they generated 152.5 terrawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity – an increase of 5.7 per cent compared to 2024.
Desnz said the rise was driven by more renewables being rolled out across the UK, coupled with more favourable weather conditions.
The UK added 3.8 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity to the grid, bringing the total to 65.1 GW, up from 61.3 GW in 2024 and 9.3 GW in 2010, the figures show.
Energy minister Michael Shanks said last year marked “a major step towards greater control over our energy, our bills and our future”.
“Britain didn’t just break records in 2025 – we blew them away,” he said.
With the Iran conflict currently driving up oil and gas prices, Mr Shanks said: “Four years on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we are again seeing what it means to be in the grip of volatile fossil fuel markets we do not control.
“While we continue to fight for people’s corner, with action taken at the budget cutting bills by £117 this week, we are also going further and faster on clean, homegrown energy such as solar and wind.
“This is how we get bills down for good and protect everyone from fossil fuel price shocks.”
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