More than half of small Bassetlaw village to be covered by 800,000 solar panels
More than half of the land in a Nottinghamshire village will be covered by solar panels after plans for a huge new project were approved.
Sturton-le-Steeple, near Retford, boasts a population of just 550 residents.
But the “Steeple Renewables Project” will lead to 836,808 solar panels being installed across over 1,200 acres of land in the village’s parish, as part of a push to transition to powering the county’s homes with sustainable energy sources.
The size of the project meant it was classified as a “Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project” (NSIP) and needed Government approval rather than permission simply from a local council.
And top officials gave the green light on Friday, October 9.
Developed by Renewable Energy Solutions (RES) Ltd – the world’s largest independent renewable energy company – the project is expected to be capable of supplying around 180,000 properties once it is completed.
In addition to the solar panels, there will also be battery energy storage systems (BESS) installed on the land, which stores the energy from the solar panels if it is not needed immediately.
RES’ latest plans were submitted in May 2025 – but the suggestion the land could be used for solar panels had been made long before.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported on the proposal in December 2023.
At that time, then-Sturton-le-Steeple parish council chair Andrew Frankish said his residents were opposed “almost to a person” to such a huge development.
He said:“(The proposed project) is ludicrously big. With another solar farm starting construction in February, it feels like we’re being suffocated.
"Residents feel like they’re being forgotten about, with this Government policy favouring solar farms.”
RES said back then that the project would create 400 jobs and take 24 months to build.
After the latest application for permission, the plans were examined between November and April this year.
Those poring over the details found that the area proposed for the solar panels was not on any land of any significance, and that no ancient woodlands lie close to the site.
Permission was then granted, with a letter addressed to the developers from the Government confirming the decision.
It said: “The Secretary of State has concluded that the public benefits associated with the proposal outweigh the harm identified, and that consent should therefore be granted.”