Plans for the Dean Moor Solar Farm have today, July 2, been granted development consent by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, after being submitted to the planning inspectorate for consideration by applicants Firma Vogt Solar in March last year.
After being accepted for examination in April 2025, the public, statutory consultees and interested parties were given the opportunity to give evidence to the examining authority, and recommendations were made to the Secretary of State on April 2.
Dean Moor Solar Farm is a joint venture between Firma Energy Ltd and ib vogt UK Ltd, coming together under Firma Vogt Solar. It will be situated between Gilgarran and Branthwaite in west Cumbria on a 280-hectare site.
Once operational, the company say the project will generate enough clean electricity to power approximately 50,000 homes every year.
When the plans were first mooted in 2023, Firma Vogt Solar said that proposals would include solar PV arrays and battery storage facilities, as well as areas for ‘landscape planting and ecological enhancements’, with the company adding that the land is currently used for agricultural grazing, which will be able to continue beneath the solar panels.
Daniel Kiremidjian, head of UK and Nordics at ib vogt GmbH, said: “We are delighted that development consent has been granted for Dean Moor Solar Farm.
A map showing the approximate site of the solar farm (red) and access points (triangles) (Image: FVS Dean Moor Ltd)
The land where the solar farm will be situated (Image: Planning Inspectorate)
“This is a significant milestone for ib vogt in the UK and reflects the hard work of our team and partners, as well as the constructive engagement with local communities and stakeholders throughout the process.”
The planning inspectorate said that local communities ‘continue to be given the opportunity of being involved’ in the examination of projects that may affect them.
Local people, the local authority and other interested parties were able to participate in this five-and-a-half month examination., the inspectorate added.
Reacting to the news, Cumberland councillor for Cockermouth South Ward Andy Semple, who represents Dean said: “I’m really pleased to see this local investment in clean green energy, turning an old opencast mining site to modern use.
“The company have consulted widely, particularly with me and Dean Parish Council ensuring the community benefits too.”
North and west Cumbria have seen a growing number of applications for solar farms in recent years. In May, plans for a solar farm plan covering nearly 20 hectares at a farm in Maryport were approved, despite the town’s council objecting to the proposal.
Elsewhere, communities have objected to some plans for large scale solar developments. Plans for a major scheme near Dent Fell, Egremont prompted the creation of a campaign group against the proposal, until the plans were withdrawn in late 2025.