Steeple solar and battery project approved to use West Burton grid capacity

RES has secured development consent for its Steeple Renewables Project in Nottinghamshire, which will make use of grid capacity released by the closure of the West Burton A coal-fired power station.

West Burton A was one of the last coal-fired power stations still operational when it finally stopped generating electricity back in March 2023. Just a year and a half later it would be followed by the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, officially marking the end of coal-powered electricity generation in the UK. 

That was a monumental moment, but it also came with some big opportunities. That’s because these power stations were still home to a significant amount of transmission infrastructure that could be used to breathe new life into the sites. 

We’ve already seen interest from data centres in taking up space near old power stations, but RES plans to use some of the capacity at West Burton A to develop a solar and battery project, dubbed ‘Steeple’. 

Steeple will connect to National Grid's 400kV West Burton substation through a new on-site substation and underground cabling, and thanks to the prior use as a power station, the existing facility can accommodate the connection without needing to be expanded.

A similar approach has been taken at Statera Energy's 300MW Thurrock battery, which uses transmission infrastructure previously associated with the Tilbury coal-fired power station.

RES estimates the development could deliver £224 million in local investment and support around 400 jobs during construction.

With planning consent secured, RES will now progress detailed design and preparations for construction. It’s hoping to be connected to the grid by October 2029 – at which point we’ll have yet more solar and energy storage capacity, which could ultimately lower energy bills.