A large solar or wind farm in England, like an offshore wind farm in English and Welsh waters, is approved or refused by the Energy Secretary, not by the council. Before the decision, the Planning Inspectorate examines the application for several months and passes a recommendation to the minister. According to the REPD extract for July 2026, a refusal here is rare: of 55 decisions, only three were negative. If you live near such a site, it is more useful to follow the examination than to count on a refusal at the end.
Contents
↓ Awaiting a decision↓ All decisions
Who decides, and why not the council
Such a project counts as a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) and needs a development consent order (DCO). Inspectors carry out the examination, hear objections from local residents and the council, then write a recommendation. The council is just one party in this process; the minister makes the decision. How projects decided by councils work is described on the homepage.
Ed Miliband and solar farms
Ed Miliband was Energy Secretary from 5 July 2024 to 20 July 2026. Over those two years the extract records 26 of his decisions, all positive, including 17 out of 17 on solar. A week after his appointment, on 12 July 2024, he approved Sunnica Energy Farm (500 MW of solar and 8.8 MW of battery storage), which had been awaiting a decision for 138 weeks. The most recent decision in the extract is also his: One Earth Solar Farm at 740 MW with battery storage, application on 27 February 2025, approval on 8 July 2026, after 71 weeks. Since 20 July 2026 the post has been held by Miatta Fahnbulleh; her decisions are not in the July 2026 extract and are not shown on the site.
Three refusals out of 55
Over the whole period, the extract shows the minister approved 52 projects and refused three: the offshore wind farms Thanet (extension) and Navitus Bay, and the onshore Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm at 89.1 MW. There is not a single solar farm among the refusals: there have been 21 decisions on solar, all positive. Dates and stages for these projects are given on their pages.
How long a decision takes
Getting from application to decision takes a median of 78 weeks; for solar farms it is 74. The spread is wide: Sunnica waited 138 weeks, One Earth managed it in 71. According to the July 2026 extract, 14 applications are awaiting a decision, the largest being the Botley West Solar Project at 840 MW, submitted on 15 November 2024.
Scotland and Wales decide for themselves
In Scotland, large projects are consented by Scottish Ministers under Section 36; in Wales, by the Welsh Government. Refusals there are more common.
| Who decides | Refusal rate |
|---|---|
| Energy Secretary (DCO) | 3 out of 55 |
| Scottish Ministers (Section 36) | 17% |
| Welsh Government | 21% |
Offshore projects around the coasts of all these countries are collected on the offshore wind page.
What this means
For large solar and wind farms in England, the decision is made by the minister after examination by the Planning Inspectorate. Of the 55 decisions in the extract, 52 were positive (95%); two offshore projects and one onshore project were refused, with no solar among them. Ed Miliband approved all 26 projects that reached him between 2024 and 2026. Decisions take on average a year and a half (78 weeks), and 14 applications are still under consideration. Statuses and dates come from the REPD extract for July 2026: the database can lag behind decisions, and decisions made after the extract are not counted here.