What is the position of Burwell Parish Council? 

Burwell Parish Council supports the transition to low carbon energy production. Due to the national importance of the local Burwell High Voltage sub-station and its connection to the National Grid, a cluster of solar farms and battery storage units has already been built within our area. Further developments of both Solar Generation and BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) are proposed, as is the development of the Burwell 2 High Voltage Substation.

We have concerns about the associated fire risk, noise pollution, visual impact and other environmental consequences that may arise during the construction phase and, later, from day-to-day operation of such developments. The Parish Council is committed to engaging with all the parties involved to address these concerns, including governmental, private and regulatory, with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome for the community and residents of Burwell.

 

Burwell Parish Council have put the following information together to help inform residents. Please note we are not able to verify information in all of the links but would encourage residents to conduct their own research and contact the relevant planning authorities or companies should they want further information or to ensure information is up to date. Please contact the Parish Council if you would like us to hear your views and consider them when we are formulating our responses to planning applications.

Current Renewable Energy Generation

As of 2024, the most recent data from the National Grid (released in 2022) indicated that ‘zero carbon sources’ generated around 50% of the electricity produced in the UK; this has increased from 20% in 2010.
Source: Electricity Generation Sources UK (2025) 

What are Solar Farms?

Solar farms are large-scale solar installations where photovoltaic (PV) panels, commonly known as solar panels, are used to convert sunlight into electricity. They are a form of renewable energy source which, together with wind turbines, make a significant contribution to the UK's energy mix.

A typical UK solar farm will currently generate around 50 MW of electricity.

A good source of information about electrical power can be found here: What is Megawatt and how many homes can it power?
In simple terms, with current technology, producing 1 MW of power requires 3,000 – 4,000 solar panels. This would occupy about 4 acres of land (about 16,000 square metres/1.6 hectares) and the energy produced will power about 1,000 homes for an hour. To give some context to this, the Sunnica facility will be 500 MW and the world’s largest solar plant is 5 GW – 100 times the capacity of the sites currently being deployed in Burwell.

Alternative Renewable Energy Systems

Wind power

To date there has been limited development of Wind Farms in the local area, and no outstanding planning applications have been submitted

Community Energy Schemes

Limited development has taken place of Community Energy Schemes. Swaffham Prior Heat network  stands as the UK's first rural low-carbon heat network. As the first of its kind for the UK, it utilises a completely renewable energy solution for the village from solar powered electrical generation to ground source heating. The energy centre then serves the village through a network of pre – insulated pipework around the village.

What are Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)?

 A BESS is an array of large batteries that collect and store energy from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, as well from the National Grid. This energy is then released when required, helping to maintain stable supplies and enabling a higher proportion of the electricity we use to come from low carbon, renewable sources.  A typical large scale battery storage facility will store 50 MW of power.

 

How does Burwell Parish Council respond to new developments?

Under planning law, the Parish Council is just one of many consultees. We have the right to register our opinions but we are not the decision making authority. Fortunately, there are many other ways for the Council to engage with stakeholders and to influence decision-makers.

The planning process nominally covers all the issues that Burwell residents may be concerned about.

The sections that follow consider the pre-planning, planning, construction and operational phases, highlighting the opportunities for Parish Council involvement and action.

Pre-planning

1) Gaining early knowledge of project plans: 
Specialist consultants and investors are constantly searching for suitable land on which to install solar farms and battery storage systems. The financial rewards for landowners are substantial and so the flow of planning applications for renewable energy projects is likely to continue some time.

2) Engaging with other stakeholders: 
By developing closer relationships with East Cambridgeshire Planning, local farmers, energy companies, National Grid, nearby parish councils, our District and County Councillors and our MP, the Council will be better prepared to respond to future applications.

Responding to new planning applications

Burwell Parish Council wants to be as involved as possible in all stages of the processing of these planning applications.

1) Public Engagement
We want developers to consult widely, reaching the public through social media and posters, and by arranging public meetings.

2) Local government engagement
The parish, district and county councils should be fully consulted, with meetings held as required. Burwell Parish Council will also seek to engage directly with developers.

3) Safety
Burwell Parish Council, Burwell residents, and the surrounding villages need assurance that all aspects of the development will be safe. In particular, we need confirmation that the emergency services and regulatory bodies are satisfied with the developer’s answers to the following questions:

a) Alarms, monitoring, emergency procedures and fire-fighting:
Does the local Fire Service fully understand the hazards and does it have the necessary resources, including hardware and water supplies, to deal with potential battery storage fires?

b) Air pollution caused by battery storage fires:
 How would the public be warned and, if necessary evacuated in the event of a fire? What would be the range of the exclusion zones (depending on wind strength/direction)?

c) Handling of large volumes of contaminated water (or other substances) used to control the fire:
 How will the used water be safely contained on site and subsequently taken away for responsible disposal?

d) Protection of watercourses and groundwater:
 In the event contaminated water leaking from the site how will these vital resources will be protected and, if necessary, remediated?

4) Environmental Impact:
Local environmental concerns, including the effects on wildlife, plants, and ecosystems should be addressed. Biodiversity Net Gain proposals should be flexible, and must take account of local concerns and preferences.

5) Visual Impact:
The impact of the site on the landscape should be minimised. We are concerned that the cumulative effect of so many large installations will, step by step, destroy the rural environment around the village.

6) Noise pollution:
 Noise from battery storage units can be very intrusive. Modelling should include the cumulative impact of multiple battery storage facilities i.e. noise arising from both the proposed and existing sites.

Construction and operational phases

1) Contact information: 
We need to know who to contact (with back-up contacts) during the construction phase regarding traffic, noise, dust, safety etc.
When the facility is completed and in normal operation we need to know who to contact if an alarm sounds or if a safety issue needs to be reported.

2) Monitoring:
How will the predicted noise levels be monitored for compliance?

3) Procedures:
We need to know the procedures that will be followed in the event of an alarm sounding, a noise level being exceeded, or a safety issue being reported.

4) Transparency:
We wish to be notified, as soon as possible, of safety incidents, complaints received, and inspections carried out.

Community benefits:
Currently, there is no legal requirement for low carbon energy projects to provide community benefits. Despite that, many projects do include community benefit schemes, and once any project has been granted planning approval the Parish Council will fully engage with the developer to secure the best possible benefits for the community.