Hazel Solar Farm 

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

When: Tuesday 24 June 2025, 3 pm to 6.30 pm

Where: Liddell Room, Seaton Holme, Easington, SR8 3BS
Drop in at any time to find out more about the proposals, meet the team, ask questions and share your feedback

SITE LOCATION

The proposed Hazel solar farm is located approximately 1km northwest of Easington and 1.5km east of South Hetton. Please see the site location map to the right.

KEY FACTS

• Solar Installed capacity: 49.9 MWac

• Battery storage capacity: 57 MW, so energy can be distributed when it is needed most

• Electricity generated equivalent to the consumption of approximately 27,300 average homes

• Approximately 17,300 tonnes of CO2 saved each year

• Bifacial, fixed solar panels to maximise energy generation

• Grid connection secured at Hawthorn Pit Substation

• Access from West Lane 

• Construction expected to take up to one year

• Construction Traffic Management Plan will be implemented to minimise disruption

• Time-limited development – at the end of the project’s 40-year life all infrastructure will be removed and the land restored

• Maximum solar panel height of 2.6m to allow for grazing underneath.

LAND USE, LANDSCAPE & NATURE

• Continued agricultural use with sheep grazing 

• Agricultural Land Classification survey shows that the site is all undifferentiated Grade 3 (moderate quality). 

• Substantial Biodiversity Net Gain with an appropriate native grass and wildflower mix sown around the panels

• Existing hedgerows and topography provide effective screening

• New hedgerows and trees will be added for more screening and biodiversity

• All public rights of way will be retained

• Total site area 76 hectares

• Panels cover 30% of the total site area, but less than 5% is disturbed by the actual footprint.

Site layout plan to be uploaded shortly.

community benefits

Community Benefit Fund managed locally of £25,000 per year, index-linked, for the project lifetime.

• Separate Education Fund £3,000 a year, index-linked, to fund educational sessions and site visits to the solar farm with local schools. Read more.

• The project is expected to generate over £1 million total in local benefits for the 40-year lifetime of the solar farm.

WHY SOLAR?

Solar is a cornerstone of the UK’s drive for energy security and lower energy bills. By harnessing a free and abundant local energy source, utility-scale solar farms reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels, mitigating the risks of global price volatility and supply chain disruptions, particularly from hostile regimes. 

Large-scale solar is now the cheapest form of new electricity generation in the UK, along with wind power.

Generating energy from fossil fuels is the biggest contributor to climate change, both globally and in the UK. The UK Government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan sets out a target to fully decarbonise our energy supplies by 2030, and while we are making good progress - during 2024 over half of UK electricity generation was zero carbon - there is still much work to do.

WHY HERE?

• Eden Renewables has secured a local connection to the electricity grid

• The landscape is suitable for a solar farm as the topography and existing vegetation will help screen the project

• Not within the designated Green Belt, National Landscape, Area of Higher Landscape Value or Site of Special Scientific Interest

• There are good levels of solar irradiation (sunlight) in this part of the country.

TECHNICAL REPORTS

We have been working on a number of detailed technical reports which will be submitted with the planning application. They include:

• Detailed Site Layout and Planting Plan

• Planning Design & Access Statement

• Construction Traffic Management Plan

• Agricultural Land Classification Report

• Access Arrangement Drawings

• Landscape & Visual Appraisal 

• Full Ecological Assessment

• Arboricultural Report

• Biodiversity Net Gain Strategy and Management Plan

• Flood Risk Assessment

• Heritage Desk-Based Assessment

• Glint & Glare Assessment

• Noise Assessment

• Battery Safety Management Plan