Solar Park & Battery Storage at Little Drum Near High Banks (36 MW)
Solar Park & Battery Storage at Little Drum Near High Banks is a 36 MW solar farm project in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: approved on 28 July 2025, not yet built; the record was last updated on 19 February 2026.
36 MWsolar farm
approved, not builtstatus in REPD
19 February 2026record last updated
Dumfries and Gallowaycouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 7 January 2025 | Application submitted |
| 28 July 2025 | Planning permission granted |
| 28 July 2028 | Permission due to expire (unless work starts) |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 36 MW
- Status (REPD)
- approved, not built
- Record last updated
- 19 February 2026
- Operator or applicant
- Grupotec Solar UK 5 Limited
- Planning authority
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Planning application reference
- 24/2616/FUL
- Address (REPD)
- Little Drum Near High Banks
- Council area (by location)
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Time to decision
- 29 weeks
- Contracts for Difference
- AR7a
- Name in REPD
- Little Drum Solar Farm - Solar Park & Battery Storage
- REPD reference
- 16846
The scheme also includes 12 MW of battery storage, recorded separately in REPD (approved, not built).
Who decides
| Applications | Dumfries and Galloway | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 106 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 40 (38%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 1 of 18 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 33 of 72 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 6 of 16 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 60.9 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 19 / 17 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcloy Hill Wind Farm | wind farm | 12.5 | refused on appeal | 5.2 |
| Chapmans Howe Wind Farm | wind farm | 6.9 | refused on appeal | 5.3 |
| High Nunton Farm Solar Farm & Battery Storage | solar farm | 49.9 | approved, not built | 5.7 |
| Mayfield Community Wind Farm | wind farm | 20.4 | refused on appeal | 6.7 |
Status and dates as recorded in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract); the database is compiled from public sources and can lag behind council decisions. Location: REPD grid reference (54.8232, -4.0151).