Renewable energy projects in Sunderland
44 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are located in Sunderland (REPD, July 2026 extract): 3 pending, 31 approved but not running, 6 operational and 2 refused. The council refused 3 of 40 decided applications (8%; UK 19%), with a median 8 weeks from submission to decision.
44projects in the council area
3awaiting a decision
31approved, not running
8%of decisions refused
How Sunderland decides
| Applications | Sunderland | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 40 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 3 (8%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 31 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 0 of 4 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 0 of 5 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 8.4 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 0 / 0 | — |
Projects in Sunderland
Projects of 1 MW and more (16)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hastings Hill Farm, Foxcover Roadbattery storage | battery storage | 38 | approved, not builtupdated Aug 2025 | Oct 2024 | granted Jul 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| Fox Cover Roadbattery storage | battery storage | 30 | approved, not builtupdated Oct 2024 | Sep 2023 | granted Sep 2024 | Oct 2024 |
| Usworth House Farm, Peareth Hall Road Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 27.3 | refusedupdated Dec 2025 | Jan 2023 | refused Oct 2025 | Dec 2025 |
| Washington Road Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 20 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Dec 2021 | Oct 2021 | granted Dec 2021 | Dec 2021 |
| Woodhouse Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 11 | refusedupdated Jan 2015 | Oct 2014 | refused Jan 2015 | Jan 2015 |
| Great Eppleton Farm Repoweringwind farm | wind farm | 8.2 | operationalupdated Jun 2011 | Mar 2007 | granted Aug 2007 | Jun 2011 |
| Unipres buildingrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 4.9 | operationalupdated Mar 2023 | Dec 2018 | granted Feb 2019 | Mar 2023 |
| Nissan Test Tracksolar farm | solar farm | 4.8 | operationalupdated Jun 2016 | May 2015 | granted Jul 2015 | Jun 2016 |
| Nissan Wind Farm Extensionwind farm | wind farm | 4.3 | application withdrawnupdated Dec 2017 | Dec 2015 | — | Dec 2017 |
| Nissan Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 4 | operationalupdated Oct 2009 | Oct 2004 | granted Aug 2005 | Oct 2009 |
| Great Eppleton Wind Farmwind farm | wind farm | 3 | operationalupdated Oct 2009 | Aug 1995 | granted Jul 1996 | Oct 2009 |
| Calsonic Kanseirooftop solar | rooftop solar | 2.1 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2024 | Apr 2024 | granted Jun 2024 | Jul 2024 |
| Nissan Motors Plant Extnwind farm | wind farm | 2 | operationalupdated Nov 2013 | Jun 2007 | granted Jul 2007 | Nov 2013 |
| Rolls Royce Plc, Radial Park Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1.6 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Oct 2024 | granted Dec 2024 | Jan 2025 |
| Snop, Rainhill Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1.2 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated May 2024 | Dec 2022 | granted Jan 2023 | May 2024 |
| SNOP UK, Washington Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1.1 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2026 | Jan 2026 | granted Mar 2026 | Feb 2026 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (28)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marelli, Home Furniture Shoprooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1 | application withdrawnupdated Sep 2023 | Jun 2023 | — | Sep 2023 |
| University Of Sunderland Reg Vardy Centre, Liberty Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.7 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2024 | Apr 2024 | granted Jun 2024 | Jul 2024 |
| Griffiths Textiles Machines, Alston Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.7 | approved, not builtupdated Oct 2022 | Aug 2022 | granted Sep 2022 | Oct 2022 |
| Faltec, International Driverooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.7 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Oct 2024 | granted Nov 2024 | Jan 2025 |
| The Galleries, Washington Town Centrerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.6 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2026 | Apr 2026 | granted Jun 2026 | Jul 2026 |
| Encore Envelopes Limited, Industrial Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.5 | approved, not builtupdated Dec 2023 | Oct 2023 | granted Dec 2023 | Dec 2023 |
| Rocket Medical, Sedling Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.4 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2023 | Dec 2022 | granted Feb 2023 | Feb 2023 |
| Morrisons, Doxford Parkrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.4 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2025 | Mar 2025 | granted May 2025 | Jul 2025 |
| Sedling Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.4 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2022 | Feb 2022 | granted Apr 2022 | Mar 2022 |
| Vantec, Turbine Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2023 | Apr 2023 | granted Jun 2023 | Jun 2023 |
| Venerable Bede Church Of England Academyrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2026 | Oct 2025 | granted Oct 2025 | Jan 2026 |
| Evolve Business Centrerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Oct 2023 | Feb 2020 | granted May 2020 | Oct 2023 |
| Vantec, Infiniti Driverooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2023 | Apr 2023 | granted Jun 2023 | Jun 2023 |
| Spire Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2022 | Feb 2022 | granted Mar 2022 | Mar 2022 |
| Clearly Drinks, Riverside Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2025 | Jan 2025 | granted Mar 2025 | Mar 2025 |
| University Of Sunderland, Saint Peters Gaterooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated May 2026 | Feb 2026 | granted Apr 2026 | May 2026 |
| Sunderland City Council Independent Living Centrerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | application submittedupdated Nov 2024 | Sep 2024 | — | Nov 2024 |
| University of Sunderlandrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Apr 2022 | Apr 2022 | granted Jun 2022 | Apr 2022 |
| Saint Marys Car Park, Saint Marys Boulevardrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Feb 2023 | Jan 2022 | granted Feb 2023 | Feb 2023 |
| Stephenson Industrial Estate, Rutherford Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated May 2026 | Jan 2026 | granted Mar 2026 | May 2026 |
| Stephenson Road - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Apr 2025 | Feb 2025 | granted Mar 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| The Cylinder Service Centre, Sedling Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Sep 2025 | Jul 2025 | granted Sep 2025 | Sep 2025 |
| Washington Primary Care Centre, Parkwayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2026 | Nov 2025 | granted Jan 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| Hetton Commnity Pool/Wellness Centre, Welfare Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | application submittedupdated Sep 2024 | Sep 2024 | — | Sep 2024 |
| Sedgeletch Sewage Treatment Workssolar farm | solar farm | — | under constructionupdated Oct 2022 | Nov 2020 | granted Jan 2021 | Oct 2022 |
| Evolve Business Centrebattery storage | battery storage | — | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Jan 2022 | Feb 2020 | granted May 2020 | Jan 2022 |
| Saint Marys Car Park, Saint Marys Boulevardbattery storage | battery storage | — | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Feb 2023 | Jan 2022 | granted Feb 2023 | Feb 2023 |
| Buzz Bingo, Pallion New Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | application submitted | May 2026 | — | — |
Postcode districts in Sunderland
| District | Projects within 10 km | Pending | Approved | Operational |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DH4 | 68 | 7 | 43 | 10 |
| DH5 | 64 | 11 | 32 | 11 |
| NE37 | 95 | 7 | 74 | 7 |
| NE38 | 72 | 4 | 54 | 9 |
| SR1 | 53 | 6 | 35 | 9 |
| SR2 | 54 | 8 | 31 | 9 |
| SR3 | 65 | 10 | 38 | 11 |
| SR4 | 65 | 8 | 43 | 9 |
| SR5 | 68 | 8 | 49 | 6 |
| SR6 | 50 | 7 | 35 | 5 |
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 Sunderland by location (nearest postcode to the REPD grid reference); decisions are counted by the planning authority named in REPD.