RWE pulls plug on 360-acre Wrexham solar farm
Grid connection availability was cited as one of the main reasons for the renewable energy company’s decision to abandon the project, which had been estimated to be capable of powering more than 34,000 homes.
RWE Renewables had started engagement exercises for its Glöyn Byw, or ‘Butterfly’, solar farm last year.
Set to have an energy export capacity of 99.9MW, the solar arrays and accompany battery energy storage system containers would have been located on three different sites on land south of Wrexham totalling 360 acres.
Proposals had also included a £1.5m community benefit fund, more than 30 acres of wildflower meadows, and more than three kilometres of public footpaths.
The solar farm had been set to connect to the Legacy National Grid substation via underground cables, according to planning documents by Axis. There were two potential grid connection options being considered at the time.
An RWE spokesperson explained the reason for the abandonment of the project.
“After careful consideration and a detailed review of grid connection availability and overall project viability, we have decided not to proceed with plans for the proposed Butterfly / Glöyn Byw solar farm at this time,” they said.
“Solar and co-located battery projects remain central to our UK strategy, with projects already in operation and construction. RWE remains committed to investing in renewable energy in the UK and bringing forward projects that can be delivered efficiently and contribute to both local and national energy needs.”
Access to the grid has been a regular problem that has only gotten worse of late. According to the government, the number of grid connection applications increased by 460% between January to June 2025, resulting in waits of up to 15 years now in place for grid connections.
Solar panels should be put on warehouse and office roofs and car parks. They should not despoil fields.
More nuclear SMRs are required – these take up less land so more room for nature.
By Rye
@Rye
Fields (grazing/crop) are not nature, they replaced actual nature. Solar panels are a far better use of land environmentally than empty fields.
By M. I. Grant
“Grid connection availability was cited as one of the main reasons for the renewable energy company’s decision to abandon the project”. This is a fundamental point and it also affects SMRs too. Get the National Grid sorted and stop these vanity projects.
By Steve5839
Ed’s solar farms are so unnecessary; there are plenty of alternative ways to do this.
By PLF_Cloud_Cuckoo_Land
We are in an energy crisis, so this is very bad news as spiralling costs are closing businesses and making heating/cooking and hot water unaffordable for many, the government needs to renationalise and sort out the grid and cut out the profiteers
By GetItBuilt!
We don’t need solar or wind – just replace all the Gw with nuclear which is far cheaper due to the longevity and reliability- runs 24/7 without the massive grid upgrades
By Stuart wood
@ April 13, 2026 at 5:16 pm
By Stuart wood
It’s not a binary choice. I think we need tons of always on nuclear. But wind and carefully sited Solar (on rooftops not fields) with storage is fine as part of the mix. A continuously upgraded grid is needed, especially with new data centres. Wave and tidal power should really be the renewables that our island country should be pursuing.
By Rye
The grid like our railways,water infrastructure etc has suffered from under investment, privatisation, shareholder dividends, poor oversight by supposed regulators and lacking political weight to get things fixed for years, with each Parliamentary term blaming the previous one. They all need an agreed strategic cross party plan with long term vision and implementation with incentive for private sector investment otherwise they should renationalise. This is critical infrastructure and will take us to a stand still of not sorted soon.
By L Voltemort
I went to their consultation they had no way of recycling these when dead they would either have to build a recycling plant in UK or send abroad which would be counterproductive on savings energy. Plus they said they would provide footpaths but in other areas where they made these promises big fences and keep out signs were erected!
By Anonymous