Downing Wins Approval for 49.9-MW Cornwall Solar-Battery

• Downing wins approval for 49.9-MW Fair Park solar-plus-storage in Cornwall, clearing the way for design, financing and construction to boost resilient, consistent clean power.

Downing Renewable Developments, a subsidiary of UK investment manager Downing, has won planning permission for its 49.9-MW Fair Park solar farm and battery energy storage project near Carland Cross in Cornwall, following a successful appeal. The approval enables the company to advance one of its larger utility-scale schemes in southwestern England after local planners initially withheld consent.

The Fair Park project pairs ground-mounted solar generation with on-site storage to deliver power more consistently and increase system resilience. With consent now in place, Downing Renewable Developments can move toward final design, procurement and financing steps ahead of construction, subject to standard conditions and grid-connection arrangements.

How will Fair Park’s consent accelerate design, procurement, financing and grid-connection milestones?

• Finalize site layout and detailed engineering, enabling a “design freeze” for solar arrays, BESS enclosures, access roads, drainage, and habitat measures to discharge planning conditions early.
  
• Launch geotechnical, topographical, archaeology and UXO surveys on all parcels, de‑risking foundation and cable trench designs and tightening contingencies.
  
• Submit and secure approvals for construction-phase plans (CEMP, traffic management, biodiversity net gain, lighting, noise) to unlock staged notice-to-proceed.
  
• Run a competitive EPC and BOP tender with a defined scope, allowing firm pricing and performance guarantees; align with owner’s engineer for design reviews.
• Place long‑lead orders (power transformers, inverters, modules, trackers, BESS containers, medium-voltage switchgear) to protect the schedule against supply-chain lead times.
  
• Lock technical standards (G99, grid code compliance, harmonic/EMF limits) so OEMs can tailor inverter and battery control firmware and factory acceptance tests.
  
• Advance Independent Connection Provider/DNO negotiations: freeze connection design, agree contestable/non-contestable works, and program outages for tie‑in.
  
• Progress from budget to final Grid Connection Offer, complete detailed power system studies (load flow, fault level, stability), and secure an energisation window.
  
• Mobilize civil enabling works procurement (fencing, access upgrades, laydown areas) and early grid route build (ducting, crossings) to compress the critical path.
  
• Move lenders from indicative to binding terms: finalize model inputs, technical due diligence, and bankability packages (EPC wrap, O&M, performance ratios, degradation).
  
• Execute route‑to‑market: shortlist offtakers, negotiate PPA or hedge, and line up ancillary services participation for the battery (frequency response, balancing).
  
• Firm up project capex with hedging strategies (FX and commodities) and secure construction all‑risk, delay-in-start-up, and liability insurance bound to the consented scope.
  
• Confirm land rights and easements tied to the consented design (access, cable corridors), enabling title opinions and step‑in rights for financiers.
  
• Sequence condition discharges to allow phased construction, letting site prep and grid works begin while remaining conditions complete in parallel.
  
• Align battery safety compliance (NFPA/UK guidance, fire water strategy, setback) with local authority sign-off, allowing fabrication and FAT slots to be booked.
  
• Establish community liaison and benefit commitments per consent, reducing legal risk and smoothing logistics and traffic approvals during peak construction.
  
• Lock O&M and long-term service agreements with availability guarantees, spare parts pools, and degradation warranties feeding lender cases.
  
• Book factory and site testing windows (FAT/SAT), DNO witness tests, and commissioning procedures to meet the target energisation date.
  
• Prepare for potential CfD or capacity market participation (if applicable) with a consented project, widening financing options or enhancing revenue certainty.