In early November, Elgin Energy secured planning permission for a 38 megawatt (MW) solar farm on Boughton Estate in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
Boughton Estate is one of four estates owned and managed by the Buccleuch business. This project forms part of a growing portfolio of renewable projects that includes a 50 kilowatt (kW) solar installation on the Borders Estate and two consented projects: a 33.6MW windfarm alongside a 400MW pumped-storage hydro scheme on the site of a former coal mine on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway. This solar farm will be the first renewable project on Boughton Estate.
The project will be installed on grazing land and a disused World War II airfield. It is the second project developed by Elgin Energy located on a former airfield. In 2018, Elgin Energy secured planning permission for a 50MW project on Milltown Airfield on Innes Estate in Moray, Scotland.
Alan Wilson, Director of Energy, Buccleuch commented
“This project aligns with Buccleuch’s corporate social responsibility strategy and the three core elements of economics, community, and environment that drive our decision-making process. It also fulfils the overarching objective of the estate development plan to utilise the land most effectively to benefit the estate, the local community, and environment. We intend to build on this success and reinvest project revenues to continue to develop sustainable projects on the estate.”
Ronan Kilduff, Managing Director, Elgin Energy commented
“Boughton Estate is one of several leading UK estates we are working with to develop solar on their land. We understand how these commercial enterprises operate and solar provides them with the opportunity to modernise operations, diversify revenue streams, and make a tangible contribution towards national energy targets.”
This project is one of one hundred projects Elgin Energy is developing and the third successful planning permission secured by the solar developer this year.
