Frequently Asked Questions

Qualitas Energy‘s business in the United Kingdom specialises in the acquisition, financing, project development, construction, and operation of renewable energy projects, with a mission to drive the transition towards decarbonisation. The company has a team of c. 30 employees operating across three strategic locations in the United Kingdom: London, Bristol, and Edinburgh.

Qualitas Energy is committed to accelerating the energy transition in the UK. Everything that we do, we do it believing in our purpose which is to enable a more sustainable and greener future for the generations to come.

We are committed to building a relationship with the community near the Little Checkhill site.

Penn Solar Farm site consists of one parcel of land near Greensforge, northwest of Ashwood and southwest of Hinksford and Swindon, in South Staffordshire.

The solar farm would generate enough clean, renewable energy to power the equivalent of approximately 16,200 homes. That’s around 35% of the total 46,000 homes in the entire of South Staffordshire.

We are still at an early stage of the process, and the design will be refined during the course of the project.

At this stage, the project is currently planned to comprise of:

• A solar farm producing up to c.60MW of electricity (AC)
• A 132kV/33kV substation location located within the solar farm site itself
• Off-site grid connection 2km northeast from the site, connecting into a 132kV overhead line pylon between Penn Grid Supply Point and Hinksford Primary
• 2km underground cable route within the existing road verge along Chasepool Road, The Holloway, High Street and Himley Lane, connecting the site to the point of grid connection
• A tower ‘tee off’ at the 132kV pylon connecting into the overhead line, including infrastructure such as a cable sealing end platform or high-level gantry chair structure to connect the underground cable route
• Landscaping and environmental enhancements

The solar farm is expected to have a lifespan of 40 years.

The project team will be undertaking a series of assessments and surveys related to ecology, biodiversity, and habitat management.

Solar farms have been evidenced to produce a biodiversity net benefit through various ecological improvements, such as planting which encourages diverse species habitation.

One of the key factors for determining an appropriate location for solar farms is the proximity of the site to a suitable Point of Connection (POC) to export power to the electricity distribution network. Penn Solar Farm is proposing the Point of Connection to the grid to be off-site 2km northeast from the site, connecting into a 132kV overhead line pylon between Penn Grid Supply Point and Hinksford Primary. The 2km cable route to the point of connection would be buried underground within the existing road verge along Chasepool Road, The Holloway, High Street and Himley Lane.

Alongside the POC suitability, the site selection process looked at other various sensitive receptors, planning considerations and sites with environmental designation.

The proposal would play an important role in helping the UK to meet its renewable energy targets.

Whilst we are still at an early stage of the process, and the details and design will be refined during the course of the project, Qualitas Energy are currently completing technical assessments that will help feed into an outline Construction Traffic Management Plan (OCTMP), that will be agreed with South Staffordshire Council.

It is currently anticipated that the site could be accessed from multiple directions, potentially with some localised road widening undertaken as part of the works. The proposed access route would be determined to ensure it provides suitable visibility and space to enable all of the vehicles accessing the site to turn into and out of the site safely.

As the Penn Solar Farm falls under the 100MW threshold, it will be considered under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. As such, South Staffordshire Council, acting as the Local Planning Authority, will determine whether the proposal is granted planning consent.

We will hold a public consultation on the proposals over summer 2026. Following this, we will review the feedback received and refine the plans before submitting a formal application to South Staffordshire Council in Autumn 2026. The Council will then assess the proposals and decide whether to grant planning consent.

Summer 2026 – Consultation
Autumn 2026 – Application submission to South Staffordshire Council
Autumn 2027 – Application decision
2027 – 2029 – Construction of Penn Solar Farm (approximately 24 months)

Qualitas Energy will be engaging with the local community, parish councillors, political stakeholders and relevant local organisations to understand feedback and discover how to best deliver value to the nearby community. The proposed Penn Solar Farm represents a significant investment in the local area and ensuring a lasting and effective Community Benefit Fund is a priority for Qualitas Energy.

We will be completing a programme of consultation over the summer to speak with stakeholders and local residents who live nearby to the Penn Solar Farm site, so that we can take their views into account before we submit a planning application.

We will be holding a public consultation on the Penn Solar Farm proposals during summer 2026. Following this, we will review the feedback received and refine the plans before submitting a formal application to South Staffordshire Council. The Council will then assess the proposals and decide whether to grant planning consent in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Act (1990). We expect to submit a planning application in Autumn 2026.

We are currently working to a timeline that would see the decision made by South Staffordshire Council by Autumn 2027.

We would then expect construction will take approximately 24 months to complete. As part of our planning application, we will prepare and submit an outline Construction Traffic Management Plan (OCTMP) which will include details on the number of vehicles needed for construction and the construction routes that will be used to access the site.

You can get in touch with us using in a number of ways, including:

• Email at consultation@thirty47.co.uk
• Call the project’s freephone voicemail message line on 0800 699 0081 and leave your message and contacts details (one of our team will call you back to answer your questions as soon as possible, between Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, excluding Bank Holidays)
• Freepost at FREEPOST TC CONSULTATION (no further address or stamp required)

Depending on where you are looking from, you might be able to see the Penn Solar Farm. All existing on-site trees and hedgerows will be retained, helping to screen views of the panels and infrastructure itself.

We are also looking to design the scheme to be in keeping with the surrounding area, with additional landscaping and planting works to further minimise visual effects as far as possible. A detailed landscape and visual impact assessment will be included with the planning application, which will include photography and an assessment of the scheme impacts from key viewpoints.

Penn Solar Farm represents an opportunity to deliver significant ecological and biodiversity enhancements. The proposals will deliver at least 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), in accordance with national requirements. Typically, solar farms deliver well in excess of this.

The project team are undertaking a series of assessments and surveys related to ecology, biodiversity, and habitat management. Qualitas Energy are committed to ensuring that impacts are minimised and that the project will deliver biodiversity and habitat improvements.

The biggest threat to food security is climate change. Solar farms therefore play an important role in supporting the continued food supply in the UK, primarily through addressing climate change which is the single biggest threat to food security. Moreover, Solar farms support the long-term viability of agricultural land by giving time for over-cultivated land to ‘rest’ and recover soil nutrients.

Currently, solar farms occupy less than 0.1% of the UK’s land. To meet the Net Zero target, new solar farm capacity would at most account for 0.6% of UK land, less than the amount currently occupied by golf courses. Left unchecked, climate change could reduce the proportion of best and most versatile agricultural land from its current baseline of 38.1% to 11.4% by 2050, a 70% reduction. The use of this land for solar to help tackle climate change therefore supports and protects the UK’s food security, rather than harming it.

Solar also cuts costs for farmers by providing a direct and long-term revenue stream, ensuring that farms remain profitable for future generations.

The site is not currently accessible via any Public Rights of Way (PRoW). Therefore, all existing routes in the surrounding area will remain accessible and will continue to provide opportunities for walking, cycling, and enjoying the local countryside throughout the operational life of the solar farm.

One bridleway does however pass close by to the eastern border of the site. Solar panels would be set back from this edge of the site and further suitable screening, and buffer zones will also be provided around the panels, if required to mitigate any impacts on the amenity of the bridleway.

The Penn Solar Farm site is located in Green Belt. Green Belt is a policy which determines how space gets used and for what, rather than being a policy designed to protect the environment specifically, in the way that, for example, designations of environmentally sensitive areas are. What being in Green Belt means is that in order to be able to use the land for development, ‘very special circumstances’ must be able to be demonstrated for why that type of development should be allowed there, as opposed to leaving the land undeveloped.

The need to tackle the climate change and make the UK’s energy supply more affordable and secure can be deemed ‘very special circumstances’ in order to justify developing renewable energy infrastructure in Green Belt, provided that there are also no other environmental or planning concerns which cannot be properly mitigated.

Although it in in Green Belt, the Penn Solar Farm site is not situated directly between two already developed areas, and so would not contribute to urban sprawl, which is what Green Belt policy is primarily designed to guard against. It also doesn’t impact upon the setting of any designated historical towns, in terms of planning policy.

As part of our planning application for Penn Solar Farm, we will be completing various surveys and assessments including a Flood Risk Assessment and preparing a drainage strategy.

Solar panels are mounted on frames which are driven into the ground on thin piles, which means that the dispersal of rainwater can continue into the ground. Where more permanent bases are required (such as for the substation) extensive assessment is undertaken, with bespoke drainage design provided to ensure that surface water will be managed appropriately. As part of the application, we will demonstrate that there will be no net increase in flood risk outside the red line boundary of the Penn Solar Farm site.

Solar farms have very few moving parts and generate very little noise. Transformers are required to convert the electricity to the correct voltage to export, and although not particularly noisy, they do generate a ‘low hum’ at close distances. A noise assessment will be undertaken to inform the design of the solar farm and will be submitted as part of the planning application. This will consider the potential for operational noise to occur, and the solar farm will be designed to reduce noise effects for surrounding receptors.

A Construction and Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) will be agreed with South Staffordshire Council to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are implemented to reduce noise impacts during construction.

Visibility of the site from surrounding areas is a key design consideration for the Penn Solar Farm. The maximum height of the panels will be 3m and due to the existing vegetation around the site, much of the site won’t be visible from most local communities. Some houses are located closer to the site and consideration of any visual impact for these properties will form part of the assessment of visual effects undertaken as part of the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA).

The design will also include mitigation, such as reinforcement of existing hedgerows and additional screening planting, which will help to further screen the development from local roads and villages.

We are still at an early stage of the process, and the design will be refined during the course of the project. We have prepared an early stage, draft layout to support the EIA screening request which sets out the indicative location of panels within the site. The final proposals will build on this and be shaped by the feedback received through the consultation process.

Our renewable energy projects are designed to a high standard, embed best practice and seek to eliminate or address potential impacts as a matter of course.

Alongside the benefits that this project brings in terms of net zero, and energy security and affordability, Qualitas Energy also aims to bring localised benefits to the area by working with those local communities hosting this project through offering a Community Benefit Fund.

Should the project be approved, Qualitas Energy will provide a Community Benefit Fund to provide financial support for activities or projects local to the scheme. We are committed to contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) and seek to support projects that improve the local community or anything which promotes the economic, social or environmental sustainability of the local area. The Community Benefit Fund will be refined as we go through consultation for Penn Solar Farm and will be informed by public consultation.