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The scale of the threat

A map of Norfolk showing the locations of proposed solar farms and other electrical infrastructure including power stations, biodigesters, pylons, cables, wind turbines and nuclear.

Map created by CPRE Norfolk (2025) using Ordnance Survey base data.

Mapping the industrialisation of Norfolk’s countryside.

Across Norfolk, tens of thousands of acres of productive farmland and open countryside are at risk from large-scale solar proposals.

Four Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) – East Pye, Tasway, High Grove, and Blofield – are at various stages of the planning process, alongside numerous smaller commercial schemes.

When viewed together, the picture is stark: solar and associated energy infrastructure could transform Norfolk’s rural landscape more dramatically than any change in living memory.

What the data shows

Scale

The cumulative area affected exceeds that of Norwich itself and approaches 15% of the Broads National Park.

Distribution

Proposals are concentrated across South and West Norfolk, but no district is unaffected.

Overlap

Several projects border each other, creating continuous industrial zones of fencing, cabling, and battery storage.

Infrastructure creep

Each new site requires substations, pylons, or cable corridors, spreading visual and ecological impacts far beyond their boundaries.

Why it matters

Viewed on a map, this is not a story of one or two solar farms, it’s a re-engineering of Norfolk’s rural fabric.

These developments risk fragmenting wildlife habitats, displacing agricultural communities, and permanently altering our county’s character.

CPRE Norfolk’s mapping work shows clearly that Norfolk is being asked to take an unfair share of England’s solar burden, while rooftop and brownfield potential remains underused.

Mapping the scale of industrialisation in Norfolk

Large-scale solar schemes (including four NSIP projects over 100MW) are being proposed across tens of thousands of acres of Norfolk’s countryside. To help the public understand the true extent of potential land loss, landscape impacts, countryside fragmentation and infrastructure spread, CPRE Norfolk has produced detailed cumulative impact maps for both South and West Norfolk.

These maps bring together multiple live and emerging proposals, including solar fields, BESS compounds, new substations, cabling corridors, and pylon routes, to show how widespread industrialisation could be across our county’s farmland and landscapes.

CLICK EACH MAP FOR A LARGER IMAGE

South Norfolk – Cumulative Impact Map

Created by CPRE Norfolk’s David Hook and Will Walker, this map shows the cumulative impact of all proposed and approved large-scale solar schemes across South Norfolk.

It includes:

All four NSIP proposals (100MW+)
Other solar on land schemes that are not classed as NSIP proposals
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Substations and cabling corridors
Villages, lanes, and landscapes affected by industrialisation pressures

Map to show the potential cumulative impact of Solar on Land infrastructure on a 400sq km area (154 sq miles / 99,000 acres) within South Norfolk.

West Norfolk – Solar Proposals Overview Map

This map, produced by Fraser Bateman for CPRE Norfolk, shows the pattern of solar development proposals across West Norfolk, highlighting:

The spread of proposed solar sites
Landscape areas at risk
Proximity to settlements
Infrastructure corridors and cumulative pressures

Map showing the large area of Norfolk countryside around Swaffham and towards Dereham that would be industrialised by solar factories, BESS and other renewable infrastructure.

Keep reading

Next page –> Impact on Norfolk – farming and food security

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This page is based on the exhibition board “The Scale of the Threat” from CPRE Norfolk’s Getting Solar OFF the Land Exhibition (2025).

Sources:

CPRE Norfolk, 2025 – Map of Norfolk Solar NSIPs and Associated Infrastructure.
SolarQ, 2024 – “Getting Solar Off the Ground.”

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