While the early days of Andy Burnham’s premiership have been characterised more by discussions and debates over North Sea oil, the first major energy project to be approved by this new government is a solar array – and an ambitious one at that.
This week, the UK Government gave its approval to London-based company Low Carbon to build a huge new solar and battery storage farm in Lincolnshire, named the Beacon Fen Energy Park.
The site will bring together 400MW of solar capacity and 600MW of battery storage capacity, which is larger than any solar farm currently operational in the UK.
The decision, confirmed on 21 August 2026, marks the first solar project of its kind to be approved by Miatta Fahnbulleh, who succeeded Ed Miliband as the Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero when the new PM reshuffled the cabinet in his first days in office.
The site sits on land to the east of Sleaford and north of Heckington, and will connect to the grid via the Bicker Fen substation.
