Low Carbon Confirms Plans to Develop a New 500 MW Renewable Energy Park in Kent

Low Carbon is in the early stages of developing proposals for a new solar and energy storage park on Romney Marsh, Kent, the UK. With an anticipated generation capacity of 500 MW, the project would generate enough clean energy to power 140 000 homes, which is roughly 20% of the homes in Kent.The approximately 600 ha. site is located near the village of Old Romney within the Folkestone and Hythe District. The area available for development includes land to the north and south of the A259 between Brenzett to the northwest of the site and New Romney to the east.

Low Carbon’s first phase of community outreach has also started, with local residents and businesses invited to attend one of the in-person or online events planned to take place over the coming weeks.

James Hartley-Bond, Project Development Director at Low Carbon, said: “We are pleased to announce our plans for South Kent Energy Park, which once built will play a crucial role in providing a clean, secure, and affordable source of energy generation in support of the UK’s decarbonisation targets.

“We look forward to engaging with the local community and providing the opportunity for those who live and work closest to the project to learn more about Low Carbon’s emerging proposals.

“In delivering South Kent Energy Park, we want to give the local community the opportunity to collaborate with us and shape the project from an early stage of the design process.

“Alongside data from our ongoing environmental surveys, we will use the feed-back we receive to inform the design of the project. We develop our projects responsibly, and listening to the community is integral to that process.”

A project website has been set up and interested parties are invited to provide their comments via the online feedback form or during one of the in-person events scheduled for 26 and 27 November. An online event will also take place on 12 December.

The proposals also include the infrastructure required to export the electricity generated by South Kent Energy Park to the national grid.

Due to its size and energy contribution, South Kent Energy Park is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. It will require an application for development consent to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, with the consent determined by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband.