Solar, wind and battery projects near Cambridge (CB1)
20 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are recorded within 10 km of the centre of CB1 (Cambridge): 4 are waiting for a planning decision, 13 approved but not yet running, 2 operational. The largest live scheme is Newmarket Road, Bottisham (50 MW battery storage, approved on 21 December 2023, not yet built), 9.9 km away. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, July 2026 extract.
Projects within 10 km of CB1
Projects of 1 MW and more (8)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Bedes Inter-Church Schoolrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 1 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2019 | Feb 2019 | granted Mar 2019 | Mar 2019 | Cambridge | 1.5 |
| Low Fen, Drove Way Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 50 | application submittedupdated May 2025 | Mar 2025 | — | May 2025 | South Cambridgeshire | 3.6 |
| Cantelupe Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | operationalupdated Feb 2017 | Jan 2011 | granted Apr 2011 | Feb 2017 | South Cambridgeshire | 5.7 |
| Barton Road, Barton Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2022 | Jan 2022 | granted Aug 2023 | Feb 2022 | South Cambridgeshire | 7.0 |
| Sawston Solar Farm (Land North of Dales Manor Business Park)solar farm | solar farm | 14 | refused on appealupdated Jun 2016 | Oct 2014 | refused Dec 2014 | Jun 2016 | South Cambridgeshire | 7.2 |
| Great Wilbraham Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 38.1 | operationalupdated Apr 2015 | Jan 2014 | granted Jul 2014 | Apr 2015 | South Cambridgeshire | 8.8 |
| Newmarket Road, Bottishambattery storage | battery storage | 50 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2026 | Nov 2022 | granted Dec 2023 | Feb 2026 | East Cambridgeshire | 9.9 |
| Newmarket Road, Bottishamsolar farm | solar farm | 49.9 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2026 | Nov 2022 | granted Dec 2023 | Feb 2026 | East Cambridgeshire | 9.9 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (12)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Parkside Poolrooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Sep 2021 | May 2021 | granted Aug 2021 | Sep 2021 | Cambridge | 1.0 |
| Coldhams Business Park, Norman Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.5 | approved, not builtupdated Dec 2023 | Nov 2023 | granted Mar 2024 | Dec 2023 | Cambridge | 1.7 |
| Lion Yard Shopping Centre, Lion Yardrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Aug 2023 | Jun 2023 | granted Aug 2023 | Aug 2023 | Cambridge | 1.8 |
| Coldhams Business Park, Norman Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | application submitted | Apr 2026 | — | — | Cambridge | 1.8 |
| St Andrews Streetrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.1 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Apr 2022 | Mar 2022 | granted Jun 2022 | Apr 2022 | Cambridge | 1.8 |
| Cambridge University Hospital, Hills Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2026 | Nov 2025 | granted Jan 2026 | Feb 2026 | Cambridge | 2.2 |
| Levidian Nanosystems, Levidian Technology Centrerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Jan 2023 | Dec 2022 | — | Jan 2023 | Cambridge | 2.3 |
| Kings College, West Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | — | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2026 | Sep 2025 | granted Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 | Cambridge | 2.4 |
| Low Fen, Drove Waybattery storage | battery storage | — | application submittedupdated May 2025 | Mar 2025 | — | May 2025 | South Cambridgeshire | 3.6 |
| Coton Orchard Garden Centre, Cambridge Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2023 | Nov 2022 | granted Jan 2023 | Jan 2023 | South Cambridgeshire | 5.5 |
| New Road, Impingtonrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated May 2024 | Mar 2024 | granted May 2024 | May 2024 | South Cambridgeshire | 5.8 |
| CRM Surgical, 1 Evolution Business Parkrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.8 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2022 | Feb 2022 | granted Apr 2022 | Jul 2022 | South Cambridgeshire | 5.9 |
Distance from the average position of the CB1 postcodes, not from your home. Projects of 5 MW and more have their own page with dates and planning history.
By type
| Type | All | Pending | Approved | Operational | Refused | MW in pipeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar farm | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 105 |
| Rooftop solar | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 |
| Battery storage | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
MW in pipeline: pending, approved and under-construction capacity.
How Cambridge decides solar, wind and battery applications
Cambridge has 7 decided solar, wind or battery applications in REPD — too few for a refusal rate (we show one from 10 decisions). Across all UK planning authorities 19% of 10,236 decisions were refusals.
Is the status up to date?
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. Near CB1, 3 projects have a status that may be out of date (pending for over two years, or approved with a permission expiry date already passed). Check the council's planning register for the latest decision.