BOOM Power secures second NSIP consent for Fenwick solar plant

The UK energy secretary Ed Miliband has granted consent for a 237.5MW solar PV plant developed by BOOM Power.
The UK-based developer will construct the site in Fenwick, Doncaster. Plans are for a 237.5MW ground-mounted PV power plant co-located with a battery energy storage system (BESS). The BESS size has not been announced.
Fenwick solar will connect to the National Electricity Transmission System via Thorpe Marsh Substation.
BOOM’s planning application was submitted on 1 November 2024. Due to the scale of the planned development, it is considered a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) and thus needed a development consent order (DCO) from the energy secretary, as opposed to planning permission at the local planning authority (LPA) level.
The DCO process requires statutory consultation; extensive engagement with local communities, landowners and stakeholders; and detailed examination by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). Notably, the examination phase of the process concluded faster than usual for BOOM, taking less than the typical six months to complete.
Fenwick is the first solar NSIP to be consented this year, and the 13th to be approved by Miliband.
It is the second DCO BOOM that the company has obtained in-house, following the East Pye solar plant in East Yorkshire, which was consented in May last year.
The core project team also worked at Wirsol Energy, a company established by BOOM founder Mark Hogan in the UK and Australia prior to the formation of BOOM Power. Wirsol Energy took the Cleve Hill solar plant, the first solar NSIP, through the DCO process.