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Solar farm frustrated by 'zombie project' delays

Paul Moseley
BBC political reporter, Norfolk
BBC A solar farm on a field, with rows and rows of panels stretching into distanceBBC
Some developers have been waiting up to 15 years to a get connection to their sites approved

Work on a large solar farm that should have started last summer has still not begun because of delays getting it connected to the grid, a developer has said.

Plans for the JAFA farm development near Swaffham in Norfolk were approved in February 2023 and it was hoped it would become operational this year.

Last month, energy regulator Ofgem backed reforms to remove "zombie projects" from the connections queue and make it quicker for viable proposals to get hooked up to the power grid.

The firm behind JAFA, Low Carbon, said it welcomed the reforms but the wait had been "frustrating".

When the project was put before planners at Breckland District Council, it would have been one of the biggest solar farms in the country.

Covering 233 acres (94 hectares), it was said it could generate enough power for 16,500 homes a year.

That has been dwarfed by more recent proposals for "megafarms" in Norfolk, some as large as 5,000 acres (1,618 hectares).

Andrew Sinclair/BBC Ed Birkett is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a navy blue suit jacket over a light blue shirt.Andrew Sinclair/BBC
Ed Birkett from Low Carbon said many projects in the UK had faced similar delays

Nonetheless, there was some controversy around JAFA, with nearby Great Dunham Parish Council "totally opposed" to it because of the loss of good quality farmland and the visual impact on the area.

But Little Dunham Parish Council gave its support to the plan, voted through by councillors on the basis that Breckland needed more low-carbon energy.

Work on the site was due to start last summer, but has yet to begin as there is currently no way of connecting it to the grid.

"It is really frustrating," said Ed Birkett, Low Carbon's new projects director.

"There's a real issue across the industry, where there are so many projects in the grid connections queue that are waiting to connect. It's leading to really long delays - up to 10 or 12 years in some cases."

Qays Najim/BBC Empty fields with trees in the backgroundQays Najim/BBC
Low Carbon said that, had building work started on this land last summer, its solar farm would be operational this year

The system has been clogged with so-called "zombie projects" – proposals that show little sign of progressing but are in the queue for a connection.

Ofgem has now approved reforms to the system that will give priority to viable developments.

Asher Minns, of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, welcomed the reforms but warned there was "a massive, massive backlog of projects" that had been stalled across the country.

"We are so far behind on generating the green renewable energy that we need for energy security – we are decades behind where we should be," he said.

Mr Birkett said he hoped his company could now get JAFA built and connected in "the next one to two years".

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