IN Brief:
- Lightsource bp has secured planning approval for the 57MWac Plas Power Solar and Energy Storage project in Wrexham.
- The site was selected partly because of its proximity to Legacy Substation.
- The approval reinforces the role of grid access in Welsh solar-plus-storage project viability.
Lightsource bp has secured planning approval for Plas Power Solar and Energy Storage, a proposed 57MWac project in Wrexham, North East Wales.
The project is expected to generate enough renewable electricity to power around 22,700 homes each year once operational. Its site was selected partly because it sits close to Legacy Substation, giving the development a defined route into the electricity grid.
The land is classed as lower-grade agricultural land and includes existing trees and woodland that provide natural screening. The design includes habitat creation and enhancement measures such as wildflower meadows, tussocky grasslands, ponds, and invertebrate banks. Sheep grazing will continue in some fields alongside the solar panels.
Lightsource bp has also committed to a fund shared between Coedpoeth and Esclusham community councils, with further support planned for local projects and initiatives. The project is one of several Welsh solar-plus-storage schemes where land use, grid access, biodiversity, and community measures are moving through planning together.
Connection availability is central to the development. Large solar and storage projects increasingly depend on substation proximity, export capacity, reinforcement requirements, and the ability to secure a workable grid timetable. A strong planning case cannot compensate for a connection route that undermines commercial or technical delivery.
Wrexham has already shown how close that balance can be. RWE withdrew its Butterfly solar-plus-storage proposal near Wrexham after concluding that grid connection availability and overall project viability no longer supported development. That scheme had been designed with up to 99.9MW of grid export capacity, on-site battery storage, a planned 132kV substation, and an underground route to Legacy Substation.
The contrast between the two schemes puts local grid access at the centre of the development picture. Both projects were designed around solar-plus-storage deployment near Wrexham, but project viability depends on detailed connection terms, reinforcement assumptions, queue position, export limits, and delivery timetable.
Battery storage can improve a solar project’s operating profile by shifting generation, reducing curtailment exposure, and supporting more efficient use of connection capacity. Its value depends on the battery’s duration, control strategy, market access, metering, and the way export constraints are managed. Storage strengthens a project’s flexibility, but it still operates within the limits of the agreed grid connection.
Solar-plus-storage projects are also being shaped by changing UK connection reform. The move away from a largely first-come, first-served queue is intended to prioritise projects that are ready, viable, and aligned with system needs. Developers with advanced planning, land, finance, and connection strategies may benefit from a more disciplined queue, while less mature projects face a higher risk of delay or removal.
For Welsh projects, geography adds another layer. Renewable resource, rural land availability, local grid constraints, and transmission reinforcement all influence which schemes can progress. Substation proximity can reduce connection complexity, but local circuits and wider network capacity still need to support the project’s export and storage behaviour.
The Plas Power approval gives Lightsource bp a consented route for a substantial solar-plus-storage asset close to an identified connection point. The next stages will test how the project’s generation, storage, ecological design, community commitments, and grid connection move from planning approval into construction and operation.
