Boralex submitted the planning application shortly before announcing Brookfield Asset Management would take a majority stake in the company, delisting it from the Toronto Stock Exchange.
March 31, 2026
A solar power plant with 99.9MW generating capacity has been submitted to the Melton Borough Council by Canadian independent power producer (IPP) Boralex.
The 99.9MW solar PV plant would be constructed on about 118 hectares of land near Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire. This is the first planning application for a plant sized over 50MW submitted to a local planning authority (LPA).
In late 2024, the government published a revised national planning policy framework (NPPF). As well as changing wording within the document to give additional weight to proposals for clean energy developments, it revised the threshold at which a project is considered a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP). 
The change, which came into force from the end of 2025, states any generation project over 100MW will be referred to the secretary of state for a development consent order (DCO).
Notably, while projects at LPA level previously hovered around 49.9MW, to avoid the old threshold of 50MW, Boralex’s submission is 99.9MW, hovering on the new boundary.
Related:Uniper plans 71.42MWp solar project in Nottinghamshire
The planning application was submitted shortly before Boralex announced that Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management will acquire a majority stake in the company.
Under an agreement with La Caisse, Boralex’s largest shareholder with approximately 15% of the company's common shares, Brookfield took on a 70% stake, with La Caisse increasing its shareholding to 30%.
The transaction implies a total enterprise value of CA$9 billion (£4.83 billion) for Boralex. Once the transaction is closed, the Canadian IPP will operate independently in its core markets of Canada, the US, France and the UK. The company currently has 3.8GW of solar PV, wind, hydro and battery energy storage assets across these markets, with more than 90% of which are contracted for an average term of 10 years.
The backing of both Brookfield and La Caisse will help the IPP accelerate the growth of its development pipeline that includes 1.6GW of advanced-stage development projects and an additional 5.6GW of mid- and early-stage pipeline.
The transaction will “finance Boralex's strong pipeline and position the Corporation for its next phase of growth,” the company said.
Patrick Decostre, president and chief executive officer of Boralex, said: “On top of its financial capacity, Brookfield alongside La Caisse, brings complementary expertise to Boralex's skill set and will enable us to benefit from significant economies of scale and opportunities, particularly in procurement, energy commercialisation to large corporations and sharing of best practices within their different platforms.”
Related:Irish renewables provided nearly 50% electricity in February
Read more about the acquisition on our sister site, PV Tech. 
Brookfield participated in the transaction with institutional partners, including Brookfield Renewable Partners. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 20% stake in UK utility Octopus Energy.
Brookfield Asset Management also backs OnPath Energy, having acquired it in 2023 in a deal worth around US$1 billion (£820 million). It also made its first foray into the UK rooftop solar sector in November 2024 with the £220 million acquisition of Atrato Onsite Energy’s commercial and residential rooftop solar portfolio.  
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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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