Margaret Curran has granted development consent for the Steeple Renewables Project in Nottinghamshire, acting on behalf of the Energy Secretary.
The decision was announced on 9 October. The scheme comprises approximately 450MW of solar-generation capacity and a battery energy storage system with 150MW of power capacity.
The project is proposed near Sturton-le-Steeple. Its applicant, Steeple Solar Farm Limited, submitted the development-consent application in May 2025.
The Planning Inspectorate accepted the application the following month and sent its recommendation to the government on 10 July 2026.
Developer RES estimates that the project could generate £224m of local investment during construction and operation. That is a developer estimate, rather than an announcement of government funding.
The consent does not mean the scheme is already operating. RES says the next stages include detailed design, satisfying consent requirements and preparing for delivery.
Curran, a Labour peer and minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, is responsible for individual planning decisions within her ministerial portfolio.
