Low Carbon has unveiled early proposals for Somerset Energy Park, a solar and battery storage project with potential capacity of 500MW near the village of Mark. The park would generate the equivalent of the annual electricity needs of more than 145,000 homes and avoid about 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Low Carbon is a London-headquartered renewable energy developer and independent power producer founded in 2011, which has raised $685 million (€591 million) in external funding. The company was acquired by CVC DIF in January 2026. It also began developing the Dengie Peninsula Energy Park earlier this month, a proposed solar and storage project of potentially 1GW near Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex.

The structural driver is the pairing of solar generation with battery storage on one site, which lets stored power be released when solar output drops. The park would be laid out across five development areas, Northern, Eastern, Southern, Western and Central, with solar panels, battery storage and associated infrastructure including inverters and substations.

It would connect to the grid through the proposed Woolavington Substation, potentially using a combination of overhead lines and underground cables, and the route will be refined as design and assessment progress. The proposals are at an early stage, with engagement already begun with communities, landowners, local authorities and statutory consultees.

Because of its size, the project is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and will require a Development Consent Order application. A wider public consultation is planned for early 2027.

Ed Perrin, project development director at Low Carbon, said “Somerset Energy Park represents an opportunity to deliver new, home-grown renewable energy while building greater flexibility into the energy system through battery storage.”

For the sector, Somerset Energy Park shows developers designing large solar schemes with storage from the outset, bringing generation and flexibility into a single consent and a single grid connection.

Source: enerdata.net / pitchbook.com / renews.biz