Hedgehog Grove Solar Farm: About The Project

There are several factors that influence the location of a solar farm.

The proposed development will have a limited environmental impact and can be connected to the electricity grid at Braintree substation. Obtaining voluntary land agreements for the main solar site is also a key influencing factor for the siting of the proposed development.

Under a previous developer, the land parcels that form the site were originally selected with the intention of securing planning permission for two separate solar farms.

The Project team has continued to review land requirements since acquiring the projects from the previous developer, leading to the introduction of additional land parcels. As such, the previous two sites have now been combined to form one site.

Panel technology is rapidly evolving and therefore procurement decisions and final specification of individual elements are typically taken receiving consent. The size and number of individual panels will therefore be determined at a later date, we anticipate between 200,000-210,000 panels.

Hedgehog Grove Solar Farm is only temporary and will be decommissioned and returned to full agricultural land once it’s come to the end of its useful life, in approximately 30 years.

We have been running a targeted Community Liaison Group to seek input and feedback, as well as receiving initial feedback on the proposals. We are holding our consultation period from 2 September – 6 October 2025.

Our timeline may be seen further down this page.

The two previous applications ‘Drapers Chase Solar Farm’ and ‘Poplars Solar Farm’ were initially developed as two local planning applications each capable of producing up to 49.9MW of electricity with one electricity connection to Braintree substation. Ongoing discussions between TotalEnergies and landowners have also increased the project extent from the previous proposals.

Following the increase to the threshold for solar Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) from 50MW to 100MW, effective from 31st  December 2025, TotalEnergies has taken the decision to move from the Development Consent Order (DCO) regime and instead seek consent for our proposals via the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA). TotalEnergies is committed to an inclusive consultation process that will ensure the voices of the local residents are heard, and seeking consent via the TCPA regime will bring the decision-making process closer to local residents.

The project will include underground cabling to connect into the UKPN network at the Braintree 132kV substation. We are currently developing the cable corridor route to ensure a minimum impact on local residents.

Yes, in order to step-up our electricity to join the grid, we will be including a small substation within our proposals. This will be sited well away from households and footpaths. We are also assessing the most suitable location for the substation, within the existing constraints of the Site.