Riddings Lane Solar and Storage

Welcome to the Riddings Lane Solar and Energy Storage System (‘ESS’) project website. Innova has submitted a proposal for a 49.9MW solar farm with a 20MW energy storage system on land south of Riddings Lane, Gleaston.  

 This development site comprises approximately 84 hectares of land for the solar panels, associated infrastructure and landscape screening. 

 The proposal would support the UK’s transition to Net Zero through increased use of renewable energy and supporting the availability of energy to the National Grid. If constructed, the site could meet the power demands of approximately 12,740 homes and offset 10,700 tonnes of CO2 every year. 

Innova has completed a wide range of site surveys to assess the suitability of the site, including ecological surveys, flood risk assessment, construction traffic plan, noise, Landscape assessment and others all included within the planning application. The application can be viewed on the Westmorland and Furness Council website using application reference number: 2025/0593/FPA. 

The site, off Riddings Lane, south of Gleaston offers a sufficient amount of land, to enable the required scale of project for the connection voltage. The development site has been selected as it is not subject to any national or local designations, has suitable access off the Coast Road, comprises lower grade agricultural land and offers opportunities to provide screening and ecological enhancement areas. 

The proposal development will result in the following key benefits 

• Delivery of renewable energy which will result in the equivalent of ~12,700 homes worth of clean electricity a year, as well as approximately 10,700 tonnes of carbon emissions saved annually.
• Substantial Biodiversity gain on-site and soil health improvements under our landscape management proposals.
• Green Economy – Contributes to one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the UK, creating highly skilled jobs, and direct expenditure and GDV contribution directly and indirectly both with regional impact.

We are proposing a Solar and Energy Storage project on land south of Riddings Lane, near Gleaston, South Cumbria. 

 A consultation event was held in January 2024. Since then, the layout for the development has been revised following feedback received with a reduction in scale and a new access proposal for construction traffic directly from the coast road avoiding Riddings Lane.  

Specialist Environmental Surveys 

We have completed a wide range of site surveys in support of the planning application. These surveys have been guided by pre-application advice and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Opinion issued by the Council. The following notable work has been undertaken to date:  

There is a demonstrable and urgent requirement for the development of renewable energy to meet net zero targets and ensure security of the UK energy supply. The UK’s legally binding requirement is to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Solar energy plays a vital part in the commitment to decarbonise energy supply in the UK and to the transition to low carbon energy to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, such as gas. 

 Westmorland and Furness Council have committed to ensuring that the area it serves is carbon net zero by 2037. The proposed development will provide a significant amount of renewable energy which will help in meeting local and national climate targets.