Renewable energy projects in Colchester
28 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are located in Colchester (REPD, July 2026 extract): 5 pending, 10 approved but not running, 11 operational and 1 refused. The council refused 2 of 24 decided applications (8%; UK 19%), with a median 13 weeks from submission to decision.
28projects in the council area
5awaiting a decision
10approved, not running
8%of decisions refused
How Colchester decides
| Applications | Colchester | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 24 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 2 (8%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 1 of 19 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 1 of 5 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 13.3 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 2 / 1 | — |
Projects in Colchester
Projects of 1 MW and more (14)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layer Farm Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 49 | operationalupdated Oct 2024 | Dec 2020 | granted Jan 2022 | Oct 2024 |
| Birch Solar Farm & Battery Storagesolar farm | solar farm | 40 | operationalupdated May 2023 | Aug 2022 | granted Mar 2023 | May 2023 |
| Langenhoe Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 21.3 | operationalupdated Mar 2015 | Nov 2013 | granted Aug 2014 | Mar 2015 |
| Boxtedsolar farm | solar farm | 20 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Nov 2023 | Nov 2023 | — | Nov 2023 |
| Holmwood Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 19 | refused on appealupdated Feb 2016 | Mar 2014 | refused Feb 2015 | Feb 2016 |
| Boxted Airfieldsolar farm | solar farm | 18.8 | operationalupdated Aug 2015 | Jun 2014 | granted Sep 2014 | Aug 2015 |
| Highfields Farm (Colchester)solar farm | solar farm | 12.2 | operationalupdated Sep 2014 | Dec 2012 | granted Sep 2013 | Sep 2014 |
| Wilkin And Sons, Factory Hill Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 6.2 | operationalupdated Mar 2024 | Dec 2022 | granted Jun 2023 | Mar 2024 |
| Stephenson Road - Urban Reserve Flexible Energy Facilitybattery storage | battery storage | 6 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated May 2022 | May 2022 | granted Oct 2022 | May 2022 |
| Birch Airfieldsolar farm | solar farm | 5.6 | operationalupdated Jul 2015 | Jun 2014 | granted Sep 2014 | Jul 2015 |
| Land Adjacent Claypits Farm (a)solar farm | solar farm | 5 | operationalupdated Aug 2016 | Mar 2015 | granted Jun 2015 | Aug 2016 |
| Highfields Farm (Braintree)solar farm | solar farm | 2.8 | operationalupdated Sep 2014 | Dec 2012 | granted Sep 2013 | Sep 2014 |
| Land Adjacent Claypits Farm (b) (Birch Estate)solar farm | solar farm | 2.3 | operationalupdated Mar 2016 | Mar 2015 | granted Jun 2015 | Mar 2016 |
| Lodge Farm, Boxted Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2024 | Apr 2024 | granted Jun 2024 | Jul 2024 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (14)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenacres, Packards Lanerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.6 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2025 | Nov 2024 | granted Jan 2025 | Feb 2025 |
| Military Corrective Training Centre, Berechurch Hall Campsolar farm | solar farm | 0.5 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Jun 2024 | May 2024 | — | Jun 2024 |
| Plummers Road, Fordhamsolar farm | solar farm | 0.3 | application withdrawnupdated Jun 2023 | Mar 2023 | — | Jun 2023 |
| Hollywood Bowl, United Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Sep 2022 | Aug 2022 | — | Sep 2022 |
| David Lloyd Leisure, United Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Sep 2023 | Jul 2023 | granted Sep 2023 | Sep 2023 |
| Church Road Tescorooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2020 | Oct 2019 | granted Nov 2019 | Jun 2020 |
| Grange Box, Grange Waybattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Nov 2022 | Sep 2022 | granted Nov 2022 | Nov 2022 |
| Gosbecks Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2025 | Apr 2025 | granted Jun 2025 | Jul 2025 |
| Via Urbis Romanae, Whitmore Drive - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2026 | May 2025 | granted Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 |
| Tesco Stores, Highwoods Squarerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | application submittedupdated Mar 2026 | Feb 2026 | — | Mar 2026 |
| The Big Yellow Self Storage Co, Bruff Closerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Oct 2023 | Aug 2023 | granted Oct 2023 | Oct 2023 |
| University Of Essexrooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Aug 2021 | Jul 2021 | — | Aug 2021 |
| Birch Solar Farm & Battery Storagebattery storage | battery storage | — | operationalupdated May 2023 | Aug 2022 | granted Mar 2023 | May 2023 |
| Fordham Road, Wormingfordrooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | approved, not builtupdated Aug 2025 | Jul 2025 | granted Sep 2025 | Aug 2025 |
Postcode districts in Colchester
| District | Projects within 10 km | Pending | Approved | Operational |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO1 | 31 | 5 | 13 | 11 |
| CO2 | 30 | 4 | 13 | 11 |
| CO3 | 28 | 5 | 12 | 9 |
| CO4 | 29 | 5 | 15 | 7 |
| CO5 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| CO6 | 23 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
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 Colchester by location (nearest postcode to the REPD grid reference); decisions are counted by the planning authority named in REPD.