Project information

Project location

Whitestone is a proposed solar farm that would be located in South Yorkshire, between Rotherham and Doncaster. The project is located across three sections, Whitestone 1 in the north near Conisbrough, Whitestone 2 in the centre around Ulley, and Whitestone 3, in the south near Harthill and Woodall.

The project would connect into the new National Grid substation near Brinsworth. Underground cables would connect the three sections of the project together and into the grid connection.

Why solar?

The UK has committed to eliminating fossil fuels from the power supply, to provide energy security and reduce future energy costs while supporting the fight against climate change. Now that the last coal power station in the UK, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, has been closed down, new renewable energy sources are needed to come forward to keep the lights on. At the same time, our demand for electricity continues to increase and is projected to double by 2050. To meet these future energy needs, we must quickly ramp up production of renewable energy here in the UK.

The Clean Power 2030 mission sets a goal to triple solar capacity by 2030, while also ramping up onshore and offshore wind development. Solar and wind work well together, and a mix of both helps provide stability to the energy supply.

The Solar Roadmap explains how the UK will achieve the Clean Power mission and includes new mechanisms to increase rooftop solar installations. From 2027, most new homes will be required to include solar panels, known as the Future Homes Standard. We support the ‘rooftop revolution’ and continue to explore commercial rooftop installations as part of our broader business, but note that large scale solar developments are needed to produce enough energy to meet our national energy goals.

Green spaces

In addition to the technical components that are needed for the project to operate, there would be green spaces beneath, between and around the panels. These areas would not have any above-ground infrastructure, and would be planted with a mix of native species, including grasses, wildflowers, hedges and trees to support local wildlife. These spaces would help reduce potential impacts by creating offsets away from key locations, including homes and public rights of way as well as environmental and culturally sensitive locations.

Detailed proposals

The project is still in early stages of design, but has already changed significantly in response to feedback from the first consultation, as well as the results of environmental and technical assessments.

Initial design (Autumn 2024)

During the first consultation, we presented the initial proposals for Whitestone, which can be found here: Whitestone 1, Whitestone 2, and Whitestone 3.

Updated design (Spring 2025)

In response to feedback from the community and other stakeholders, we removed around one fourth of the area for solar panels in order to create buffers around homes, villages, and the public rights of way. Most of these areas are still included in the project boundary, and would be used for environmental mitigation and enhancement. This means that they would not have any above-ground infrastructure, but would be planted with a mix of native wildflowers and grasses to support wildlife. They are marked in green in the updated masterplans saved here: Whitestone 1, Whitestone 2, and Whitestone 3.

Current proposals (Autumn 2025)

Based on environmental and technical assessments, we have identified potential locations for the substations and batteries. We have also identified the potential cable route options to connect the three parts of the project together and into the National Grid. We are presenting these proposals for feedback in the second consultation.