Renewable energy projects in Bolton
25 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are located in Bolton (REPD, July 2026 extract): 3 pending, 16 approved but not running, 3 operational and 2 refused. The council refused 4 of 22 decided applications (18%; UK 19%), with a median 11 weeks from submission to decision.
25projects in the council area
3awaiting a decision
16approved, not running
18%of decisions refused
How Bolton decides
| Applications | Bolton | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 22 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 4 (18%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 1 of 15 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 1 of 1 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 2 of 6 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 10.9 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 1 | — |
Projects in Bolton
Projects of 1 MW and more (9)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slack Lane, Westhoughtonbattery storage | battery storage | 45 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Aug 2024 | granted Dec 2024 | Jan 2025 |
| Stonecloughbattery storage | battery storage | 7 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated May 2022 | Apr 2022 | granted Oct 2022 | May 2022 |
| Bent Spur Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | operationalupdated Apr 2016 | Aug 2015 | granted Nov 2015 | Apr 2016 |
| Union Court Storage Facilitybattery storage | battery storage | 4.8 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Dec 2021 | Jul 2021 | granted Oct 2021 | Dec 2021 |
| Chadwick Wind Turbineswind farm | wind farm | 4.5 | refusedupdated Sep 2012 | Feb 2012 | refused Jun 2012 | Sep 2012 |
| Salford Road Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 2.2 | operationalupdated Jan 2016 | May 2015 | granted Jun 2015 | Jan 2016 |
| Edbro, Lever Streetrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1.7 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Jun 2023 | Apr 2023 | granted Jun 2023 | Jun 2023 |
| Salford Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1.6 | operationalupdated Jun 2016 | — | — | Jun 2016 |
| Tesco Superstore, Mansell Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1.1 | application submittedupdated May 2026 | Apr 2026 | — | May 2026 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (16)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europa Way, Units F1 & F2rooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.9 | refusedupdated May 2022 | Feb 2022 | refused Mar 2023 | May 2022 |
| Vernacare, Folds Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.7 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Nov 2024 | granted Jan 2025 | Jan 2025 |
| Albion Mill, Cawdor Streetrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.5 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2025 | Apr 2025 | granted Jun 2025 | Jun 2025 |
| Tesco, Mansell Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.5 | approved, not builtupdated Sep 2021 | Sep 2020 | granted Nov 2020 | Sep 2021 |
| Westhoughtonrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | application withdrawnupdated Apr 2022 | Mar 2022 | — | Apr 2022 |
| Moss Rose Millrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Dec 2024 | Oct 2024 | granted Dec 2024 | Dec 2024 |
| Seddon Construction, Plodder Lanesolar farm | solar farm | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2025 | Jan 2025 | granted May 2025 | Jun 2025 |
| Leadbeaters Lanerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Dec 2024 | Aug 2024 | granted Nov 2024 | Dec 2024 |
| Crompton Health Centre, Crompton Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2024 | Jan 2024 | granted Feb 2024 | Mar 2024 |
| Scot Lane - Micro Energy Storage Systembattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2026 | Aug 2025 | granted Jan 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| Bramble Croft, Chew Moor Lanebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | application submittedupdated May 2026 | Apr 2026 | — | May 2026 |
| Westhoughton Community Leisure Centrerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Dec 2021 | Jul 2021 | granted Sep 2021 | Dec 2021 |
| Northern Building Plastics, Leadbeaters Lanerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Aug 2024 | Aug 2024 | — | Aug 2024 |
| Churchill Unit Oncology Royal Bolton Hospitalrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2026 | Dec 2025 | granted Feb 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| Ditchers Farmbattery storage | battery storage | — | approved, not builtupdated Nov 2024 | Oct 2021 | refused Feb 2024 | Nov 2024 |
| Amazon UK Plot E1, Bridgewater Avenuerooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Apr 2022 | Mar 2022 | granted Jun 2022 | Apr 2022 |
Postcode districts in Bolton
| District | Projects within 10 km | Pending | Approved | Operational |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BL1 | 33 | 3 | 19 | 6 |
| BL2 | 38 | 3 | 24 | 6 |
| BL3 | 39 | 6 | 22 | 6 |
| BL4 | 46 | 6 | 29 | 6 |
| BL5 | 42 | 8 | 24 | 5 |
| BL6 | 40 | 8 | 24 | 5 |
| BL7 | 18 | 1 | 11 | 3 |
32% of applications still shown as pending in REPD were submitted more than two years ago, and only 37% of pending records were updated in the last 12 months, so some of them may already have been decided. Projects belong to Bolton by location (nearest postcode to the REPD grid reference); decisions are counted by the planning authority named in REPD.