The development process
Due to the capacity of the solar farm exceeding 50 MW, Mallard Pass Solar Farm is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and requires a Development Consent Order (DCO) under the Planning Act 2008.
The DCO application for Mallard Pass Solar Farm was awarded development consent on 12 July 2024 by the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The DCO application was submitted on 24 November 2022.
All relevant documents, including the DCO as made, the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter, the Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report and all other application/ examination documents are available on the project-dedicated webpage of the Planning Inspectorate website linked here.
Our DCO application documents are available to view on our Documents webpage linked here. To find out more about the DCO application process, please visit the PINS webpage linked here. To view a presentation about the DCO process, please click here for a PINS’ informational video, or click here to read a transcript.
The Examination for Mallard Pass began on 16 May 2023 and came to an end on 16 November 2023.
On 21 December 2022, PINS, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), accepted the Mallard Pass Solar Farm DCO for Examination.
Across the six-month Examination period starting on 16 May 2023, the Examining Authority (ExA) appointed by PINS considered our DCO application for Mallard Pass Solar Farm. The Examination included onsite inspections, hybrid hearings (in person with online available) and the digital submission of additional written material from a variety of stakeholders.
Throughout the Examination, our team was given the opportunity to further discuss the DCO with key stakeholders and offer further details and explanations where needed, as well as respond to further material submitted by others. If you participated in the examination process, we sincerely thank you for your time and contributions. For more information on stakeholder engagement during the pre-application and post-DCO submission period, please visit our webpage on the consultation process linked here.
All information regarding the Examination (including documents submitted and recordings of previous hearings) is available on the PINS project website, accessible by clicking here.
We then entered the Recommendation stage of the DCO application process, which is a stage during which the ExA has three months to write a confidential report and recommendation to the Secretary of State for the DESNZ as to whether the application should be granted or not.
The Examining Authority (ExA) made its recommendation to the Secretary of State for DESNZ on Friday 16 February 2024.
This means we then began the Decision stage of the DCO application process, which also lasts three months. This is the time during which the Secretary of State for DESNZ reviews and considers the ExA’s recommendation and decides whether to grant the DCO. The date set for the Decision stage of Mallard Pass Solar Farm to be completed was Thursday 16 May 2024.
On 16 May 2024, a new deadline of Thursday 13 June 2024 was set by the Secretary of State for DESNZ to ensure there is sufficient time for the application to be considered. The Secretary of State’s letter can be found on the PINS website, please click here to be redirected.
On 30 May 2024, PINS issued a statement explaining that no development consent decisions will be made during the pre-election period, and that an update regarding the status of our DCO application for Mallard Pass Solar Farm will be provided after the General Election on 04 July 2024 has taken place. This statement can be found on the PINS website, please click here to be redirected.
On 12 July 2024, the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero granted development consent for Mallard Pass Solar Farm. All relevant documents, including the DCO as made, the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter, the Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report and all other application/ examination documents are available on the project-dedicated webpage of the PINS website, linked here.
Local residents and community members can continue to contact us through our information lines listed below should you have any queries regarding the development process.
Further, you can also sign up here to receive direct updates via email on the project.