Renewable energy projects in Chelmsford
16 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are located in Chelmsford (REPD, July 2026 extract): 1 pending, 13 approved but not running, 0 operational and 1 refused. The council refused 5 of 15 decided applications (33%; UK 19%), with a median 32 weeks from submission to decision.
16projects in the council area
1awaiting a decision
13approved, not running
33%of decisions refused
How Chelmsford decides
| Applications | Chelmsford | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 15 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 5 (33%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 9 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 2 of 6 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 32.3 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 3 / 3 | — |
Projects in Chelmsford
Projects of 1 MW and more (6)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longfieldsolar farm | solar farm | 500 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2023 | Feb 2022 | granted Jun 2023 | Jun 2023 |
| Battlesbridge Bypass, Rettendonbattery storage | battery storage | 100 | refusedupdated Oct 2021 | Feb 2022 | refused May 2022 | Oct 2021 |
| Canon Barns Road Solar Photovoltaic Arrays & Battery Storagesolar farm | solar farm | 49.9 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Feb 2023 | Feb 2021 | granted Feb 2023 | Feb 2023 |
| Hill Farm Solar Park & Battery Storage (Hanningfield Green)solar farm | solar farm | 36.7 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Feb 2026 | Mar 2021 | granted Jul 2022 | Feb 2026 |
| St Cleres Hall Pit Solar Arraysolar farm | solar farm | 25 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Jan 2022 | Jan 2021 | granted Oct 2021 | Jan 2022 |
| Canon Barns Road Solar Parksolar farm | solar farm | 8 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Feb 2022 | Mar 2021 | granted Jan 2022 | Feb 2022 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (10)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainsburys, White Hart Lanerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.6 | approved, not builtupdated Nov 2025 | May 2025 | granted Jul 2025 | Nov 2025 |
| Sewage Treatment Works, Lawford Lane - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | application submittedupdated Sep 2024 | Aug 2024 | — | Sep 2024 |
| Visteon Engineering, Springfield Lyons Approach - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Apr 2025 | Jan 2025 | granted Mar 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Verge Fronting, Westway - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Apr 2026 | Nov 2025 | granted Feb 2026 | Apr 2026 |
| Robjohns Road - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Apr 2026 | Dec 2025 | granted Mar 2026 | Apr 2026 |
| Robjohns Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Dec 2021 | Sep 2021 | granted Oct 2021 | Dec 2021 |
| Longfieldbattery storage | battery storage | — | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2023 | Feb 2022 | granted Jun 2023 | Jun 2023 |
| Hill Farm Solar Park & Battery Storage (Hanningfield Green)battery storage | battery storage | — | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Feb 2026 | Mar 2021 | granted Jul 2022 | Feb 2026 |
| Danbury Outdoors, Well Lanesolar farm | solar farm | — | application withdrawnupdated Dec 2022 | Sep 2022 | — | Dec 2022 |
| Bridgemarsh Care Home, Main Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated May 2023 | Sep 2022 | granted Apr 2023 | May 2023 |
Postcode districts in Chelmsford
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 Chelmsford by location (nearest postcode to the REPD grid reference); decisions are counted by the planning authority named in REPD.