Mallard Pass Solar Farm project is sold by Canadian Solar and Windel Energy to Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners

A huge solar farm project has been sold to an investment company.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has taken over Mallard Pass Solar Farm which will span the Rutland and Lincolnshire border.

The plans were originally drawn up by Windel Energy and Canadian Solar and granted planning permission by the Secretary of State for energy security and net zero in July last year.

The solar farm will cover 463 hectares - the equivalent of 865 football pitches - spanning out from Essendine towards Ryhall, Uffington, Stamford, Pickworth and Carlby.

The sale to Quinbrook was announced this week.

Company director Rosalind Smith-Maxwell said: “Solar projects of this scale play an important role in the decarbonisation of the UK grid and our country’s energy security.

“The investment in Mallard Pass is another excellent example of Quinbrook’s focus on holistic and impactful investment in the infrastructure needed to advance the energy transition.”

Work on the £240million project is expected to start next year and be completed in 2028.

Mallard Pass will be Quinbrook’s second nationally significant infrastructure project. Its first project, Cleve Hill Solar Park in Kent, is in the final stages of construction.

Quinbook predicts that Mallard Pass will support more than 2,000 jobs during its lifespan and generate £124million in local contributions.

It will be the first national infrastructure project to be carried out in the area since Rutland Water was built and could provide energy for 92,000 homes over the next 30 to 40 years.