Burtree Lane

Aura Power is working on a solar farm proposal at Whessoe, north of Darlington with a capacity of up to 49.9MW (Megawatts). Burtree Lane Solar Farm will be built without subsidy and would generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of over 14,000 homes, saving around 10,900 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year.

Darlington Borough Council has declared a climate emergency and this solar farm will help in the quest to net zero and decarbonisation of the UK’s energy system.

Burtree Lane Solar Farm will not only increase the supply of clean power but as solar is the lowest cost form of new energy generation it will also help to reduce national power prices.

It offers a number of benefits locally with increased biodiversity proposals and a community benefit fund of £350 per MW per year (index-linked), for the lifetime of the solar farm. This could amount to £17,500 a year for 40 years or £700,000 in total, used locally for social and environmental projects.  We are also offering educational sessions with local schools and site visits to the solar farm.

As a local business, our solar farm will be contributing over £80,000 in business rates to Darlington Borough Council every year.

Further details on the proposal and frequently asked questions can be found further down this page.