The Thurleigh Road Solar Farm in Bedfordshire will share grid infrastructure with the Thurleigh Road BESS, both developed by Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE).
February 23, 2026
Bedford Borough Council has granted planning consent for a 49.9MW PV plant due to be built alongside a previously consented battery energy storage system (BESS).
The Thurleigh Road Solar Farm in Bedfordshire will share grid infrastructure with the 69MW/138MWh Thurleigh Road BESS, both developed by UK-headquartered international developer of utility-scale solar and battery storage projects, Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE).
PACE said the two projects will provide flexibility and reduce long-term grid management costs, “delivering efficiencies for the grid operator and ultimately helping to reduce costs for consumers”.
With grid connections hard to come by in the UK, as reforms to the process by which projects receive offers are delaying projects, it is likely that co-location offers further benefit by allowing the solar plant to come online sooner than it would have if it had waited to secure an individual connection.
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The Thurleigh Road site is due to connect to the grid in 2027. The company’s internal construction team, PACE EPC, will progress the project.
PACE managing director Rob Denman described the location of the project as “highly connected”. PACE says that it works with National Grid to develop its portfolio of “strategically located” solar PV and battery energy storage installations.
The company announced it had secured planning permission shortly after the results of the seventh Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction were published, in which PACE received contracts for eight projects averaging 30MWp.
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Molly Green
Senior Reporter, Informa
Molly joined the team in 2024 and has led coverage on the UK sites. Now shifting to a more global view, Molly is interested in how legislation shapes market dynamics, covering the intersection of policy design, investment patterns, and energy transition pathways. 
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