Solar, wind and battery projects near Halstead (CO9)
11 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are recorded within 10 km of the centre of CO9 (Braintree): 3 are waiting for a planning decision, 4 approved but not yet running, 2 operational. The largest live scheme is Cutbush Farm, Belchamp St Paul (50 MW solar farm, under construction since 1 September 2025), 9.3 km away. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, July 2026 extract.
Projects within 10 km of CO9
Projects of 1 MW and more (6)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gosfield Airfieldsolar farm | solar farm | 12.6 | operationalupdated Mar 2015 | Dec 2013 | granted Apr 2014 | Mar 2015 | Braintree | 2.5 |
| Kentishes Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | operationalupdated Apr 2017 | Nov 2014 | granted Apr 2016 | Apr 2017 | Braintree | 7.0 |
| Kentish Farm 2battery storage | battery storage | 22.5 | application submittedupdated Aug 2025 | Jul 2025 | — | Aug 2025 | Braintree | 7.1 |
| Kentish Farm 2 Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 16.5 | application submittedupdated Aug 2025 | Jul 2025 | — | Aug 2025 | Braintree | 7.1 |
| Big Deere Lodgesolar | solar | 6 | refusedupdated Apr 2014 | Aug 2013 | refused Apr 2014 | Apr 2014 | Braintree | 9.0 |
| Cutbush Farm, Belchamp St Paulsolar farm | solar farm | 50 | under constructionupdated Oct 2025 | May 2023 | granted Dec 2024 | Oct 2025 | Braintree | 9.3 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (5)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedingham School, Christmas Fieldrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Apr 2024 | Feb 2024 | granted Mar 2024 | Apr 2024 | Braintree | 2.3 |
| Kentishes West, Essexbattery storage | battery storage | — | permission expiredupdated Feb 2020 | Sep 2016 | — | Feb 2020 | Braintree | 7.1 |
| Hole Farm, Knowl Greenrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Oct 2024 | granted Dec 2024 | Jan 2025 | Braintree | 8.1 |
| Jack Arnold, Lancaster Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | application submitted | Jun 2026 | — | — | Braintree | 8.4 |
| The Essex Golf/Leisure Club, The Airfield Earlsrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Oct 2023 | Aug 2023 | granted Oct 2023 | Oct 2023 | Braintree | 8.5 |
Distance from the average position of the CO9 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 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 66.5 |
| Rooftop solar | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 |
| Solar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Battery storage | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.5 |
MW in pipeline: pending, approved and under-construction capacity.
How Braintree decides solar, wind and battery applications
| Applications | Braintree | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 34 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 3 (9%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 25 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 0 of 9 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 15.9 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 2 / 2 | — |
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. Check the council's planning register for the latest decision.