Thrift Solar Farm and BESS (30 MW)
Thrift Solar Farm and BESS is a 30 MW solar farm project in Epping Forest, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: approved on 24 December 2025, not yet built; the record was last updated on 13 January 2026.
30 MWsolar farm
approved, not builtstatus in REPD
13 January 2026record last updated
Epping Forestcouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 23 June 2025 | Application submitted |
| 24 December 2025 | Planning permission granted |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 30 MW
- Status (REPD)
- approved, not built
- Record last updated
- 13 January 2026
- Operator or applicant
- IB Vogt UK Limited
- Planning authority
- Epping Forest
- Planning application reference
- EPF/1216/25
- Site area
- 34.1 ha
- Address (REPD)
- E/O Tawney Common, Theydon Mount, Epping
- Council area (by location)
- Epping Forest
- Time to decision
- 26 weeks
- REPD reference
- 18681
The scheme also includes 30 MW of battery storage, recorded separately in REPD (approved, not built).
Who decides
| Applications | Epping Forest | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 10 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 3 (30%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 9 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 0 of 1 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 27.6 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 0 / 1 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar Farm at Nickerlands | solar farm | 25 | approved, not built | 2.0 |
| Upland Road - 49.9 Megawatt Solar Panels | solar farm | 49.9 | refused | 5.6 |
| Ongar Landfill Ground mounted solar photovoltaic | solar farm | 8.8 | application withdrawn | 6.4 |
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 (51.6894, 0.1674).