Solar, wind and battery projects near Hockley (SS5)
33 solar, wind or battery projects of 150 kW or more are recorded within 10 km of the centre of SS5 (Rochford): 5 are waiting for a planning decision, 17 approved but not yet running, 3 operational. The largest live scheme is Fairlawns Farm, Chelmsford Road (480 MW battery storage, approved on 17 July 2025, not yet built), 3.6 km away. Offshore, 3 wind farms are recorded within 40 km; the nearest is Kentish Flats 2 (49.5 MW, operational), 34.8 km away. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, July 2026 extract.
Projects within 10 km of SS5
Projects of 1 MW and more (20)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairlawns Farm, Chelmsford Roadbattery storage | battery storage | 480 | approved, not builtupdated Nov 2025 | Jul 2024 | granted Jul 2025 | Nov 2025 | Rochford | 3.6 |
| South Fambridge Hall Solar farm & Battery storagesolar farm | solar farm | 50 | under constructionupdated Mar 2025 | Jun 2021 | granted Dec 2021 | Mar 2025 | Rochford | 3.6 |
| South Fambridge Hall Solar farm & Battery storagebattery storage | battery storage | 20 | under constructionupdated Mar 2025 | Jun 2021 | granted Dec 2021 | Mar 2025 | Rochford | 3.6 |
| Fambridge Road/Canewdon Roadsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | operationalupdated Feb 2016 | Oct 2014 | granted Apr 2015 | Feb 2016 | Rochford | 3.8 |
| Fambridge Road/Canewdon Roadsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | permission expiredupdated Aug 2018 | Oct 2014 | granted Apr 2015 | Aug 2018 | Rochford | 3.8 |
| Canewdon Road, Canewdon Solar Photovoltaic Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 49.9 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2024 | May 2023 | granted Jan 2024 | Jan 2024 | Rochford | 4.2 |
| Great Wheatley Road Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 30 | under constructionupdated Jun 2026 | Mar 2022 | granted Mar 2024 | Jun 2026 | Rochford | 4.5 |
| Rayleigh Transforming Stationbattery storage | battery storage | 10.8 | permission expiredupdated Mar 2020 | May 2017 | granted Aug 2017 | Mar 2020 | Rochford | 4.6 |
| London Southend Airportsolar farm | solar farm | 2.5 | operationalupdated Dec 2017 | Mar 2015 | granted May 2015 | Dec 2017 | Rochford | 4.9 |
| Bolt Hall Farm, Lark Hill Road Solar Photovoltaic Farm.solar farm | solar farm | 50 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Feb 2026 | Aug 2023 | — | Feb 2026 | Rochford | 5.7 |
| Dollymans Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 100 | operationalupdated May 2021 | May 2021 | granted Nov 2021 | May 2021 | Rochford | 5.9 |
| Battlesbridge Bypass, Rettendonbattery storage | battery storage | 100 | refusedupdated Oct 2021 | Feb 2022 | refused May 2022 | Oct 2021 | Chelmsford | 6.1 |
| Southlands Solar Farm & Battery Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 57 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Apr 2023 | granted Nov 2024 | Jan 2025 | Basildon | 7.0 |
| Southlands Solar Farm & Battery Storagesolar farm | solar farm | 24.6 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Apr 2023 | granted Nov 2024 | Jan 2025 | Basildon | 7.0 |
| Land West Of Flambirds Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | refusedupdated Dec 2015 | Aug 2015 | refused Nov 2015 | Dec 2015 | Maldon | 7.6 |
| Rayleigh Spur Roundabout, Benfleetbattery storage | battery storage | 150 | application submittedupdated Aug 2025 | Jul 2025 | — | Aug 2025 | Basildon | 7.6 |
| Corporation Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 5 | abandonedupdated Mar 2019 | Aug 2015 | granted Apr 2017 | Mar 2019 | Maldon | 9.1 |
| Prentice’s Farm- Solar Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 21 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2026 | Apr 2024 | granted Sep 2024 | Feb 2026 | Maldon | 9.2 |
| Jackletts Farmsolar farm | solar farm | 10 | refusedupdated Jul 2014 | Jul 2013 | refused Oct 2013 | Jul 2014 | Maldon | 9.7 |
| Canon Barns Road Solar Photovoltaic Arrays & Battery Storagesolar farm | solar farm | 49.9 | approved, not built may be out of dateupdated Feb 2023 | Feb 2021 | granted Feb 2023 | Feb 2023 | Chelmsford | 9.8 |
Smaller schemes under 1 MW, mostly rooftop solar (13)
| Project | Type | MW | Status (REPD) | Submitted | Decision | Record updated | Council | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clements Hall Leisure Centre, Clements Hall Wayrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | Oct 2024 | granted Nov 2024 | Jan 2025 | Rochford | 2.3 |
| Rochford Hospital, Union Lanerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | refusedupdated May 2026 | Feb 2026 | refused Mar 2026 | May 2026 | Rochford | 4.7 |
| David Lloyd Health And Fitness Centre, Snakes Lanerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.5 | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Jul 2023 | Jul 2023 | — | Jul 2023 | Southend-on-Sea | 5.0 |
| Southend Arterial Roadbattery storage | battery storage | — | application submitted may be out of dateupdated Mar 2024 | Feb 2024 | — | Mar 2024 | Basildon | 6.2 |
| London Road, Hadleighrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Feb 2024 | Dec 2023 | granted Feb 2024 | Feb 2024 | Castle Point | 6.6 |
| Sewage Pumping Station, Rushbottom Lane - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | application submittedupdated Aug 2025 | Jul 2025 | — | Aug 2025 | Castle Point | 7.8 |
| Spire Wellesley Hospital, Eastern Avenuerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jan 2025 | May 2024 | granted Dec 2024 | Jan 2025 | Southend-on-Sea | 8.2 |
| Memorial Park - Micro Energy Storagebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | application withdrawnupdated Dec 2025 | Feb 2025 | — | Dec 2025 | Basildon | 8.3 |
| Sainsburys Supermarkets, London Roadrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated Jun 2025 | Mar 2025 | granted May 2025 | Jun 2025 | Southend-on-Sea | 8.7 |
| Unit 1, Watkins Closerooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Jul 2023 | May 2023 | granted Jul 2023 | Jul 2023 | Basildon | 9.1 |
| Burnt Mills Industrial Estate, Hovefields Avenuebattery storage | battery storage | 0.2 | approved, not builtupdated May 2026 | Dec 2025 | granted Mar 2026 | May 2026 | Basildon | 9.1 |
| Bromfords School, Grange Avenue - Redevelopmentrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.3 | approved, not builtupdated Apr 2026 | Jul 2025 | granted Oct 2025 | Apr 2026 | Basildon | 9.4 |
| Adventure Island, Western Esplanade Solar Arraysrooftop solar | rooftop solar | 0.1 | approved, not builtupdated Mar 2025 | Jan 2025 | granted Feb 2025 | Mar 2025 | Southend-on-Sea | 9.6 |
Distance from the average position of the SS5 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 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 275 |
| Rooftop solar | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Battery storage | 11 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 707 |
MW in pipeline: pending, approved and under-construction capacity.
Offshore wind farms within 40 km
| Wind farm | MW | Status (REPD) | km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentish Flats 2 | 49.5 | operationalupdated Jun 2016 | 34.8 |
| Kentish Flats | 90 | operationalupdated Oct 2017 | 35.0 |
| Gunfleet Sands - (Demo) Extension | 12 | operationalupdated Nov 2017 | 39.1 |
Operational, approved and pending offshore wind farms; distance from the district centre to the REPD grid reference of each wind farm (one point per site, so the nearest turbines can be closer or further). All offshore wind farms in UK waters.
How Rochford decides solar, wind and battery applications
| Applications | Rochford | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 12 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 3 (25%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 9 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 0 of 3 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 25.0 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 1 | — |
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 SS5, 4 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.