Proposals

Introducing Whitestone

Whitestone is a proposed solar farm that would be located in South Yorkshire, between Rotherham and Doncaster and connect into the National Grid at Brinsworth substation. The project is located across three sections, Whitestone 1 in the north near Conisbrough, Whitestone 2 in the centre to the east of Brinsworth, and Whitestone 3, in the south near Harthill with Woodall.

Project development

The project is still in early stages of design, but has already changed significantly in response to consultation feedback.

In Autumn 2024, we presented the initial proposals for Whitestone, which can be found here: Whitestone 1, Whitestone 2, and Whitestone 3.

In response to feedback from the community and other stakeholders, we removed around one fourth of the solar panels in order to create buffers around homes, villages, and the public rights of way. The updated masterplans are located to the right and saved here: Whitestone 1, Whitestone 2, and Whitestone 3.

During the next consultation later this year, there will be another opportunity to provide feedback on these proposals before we submit our DCO application.

Why here?

The National Grid connects power users to power sources across the UK, through a network of substations, pylons and cables. New energy projects can only connect into the National Grid at locations where there is available capacity. Due to its historic connection to the steel industry, there was capacity at Brinsworth, so we were able to secure an agreement for a new energy project to connect at this location. Once we had secured the grid connection agreement, we looked for land nearby that would be suitable for solar.

What’s a solar farm?

Whitestone would include the necessary components to collect energy from sunlight and prepare it to be transferred to the National Grid, where it will go on to power homes, businesses, schools and hospitals across the UK.

WS – Components of a solar farm infographic[88] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The Developer

Whitestone is being developed by Green Nation and Net Zero One Ltd.

Established in 2011, Green Nation is a leader in solar development in the UK. We began by developing rooftop systems for homes, schools, and businesses and then expanded into ground-mounted solar farms. We currently manage 75 solar farms and hundreds of rooftop installations around the country.

Net Zero One Ltd has been established as a specialist development business to allow the funding of larger projects, drawing on the expertise of Green Nation, which ensures that we have sufficient funding to build, operate, and decommission Whitestone at the end of its life.

Click here for more information about Green Nation.