Lime kiln Solar pv
Bedfordshire, England
Get to know the project
Lime Kiln
Solar PV
Lime Kiln is a proposed 49.5MW solar PV project, located west of Wymington and north-east of Poddington, Bedfordshire. The Proposed development would be located on approximately 193 acres of land which is currently in predominantly arable agricultural use. Lime Kiln is part of a wider development which includes its sister site: Bottom Railway, together delivering upto 75.9MW.
Project phases
Type of installation
Solar Pv
Location
Bedfordshire
England
Energy Production
49.5MW
Across 193 acres
Renewable Power
14,020
tonnes of CO₂ avoided annually.
Homes Powered
18,000
During Peak Hours
Land Use Preserved
95%
to remain in farming use and used for sheep grazing
Decomissioning
40 Year Lease
99% of materials recycled
Community Benefit
£200,000
Across the lifetime of the project
About Us
We drive change
We are a team of passionate people who bring good energy to the world and drive positive changes for a more sustainable future. Our team accelerates the energy transition in 8 countries within Europe and America.
What makes us different?
We care about the quality of each process. That is why we manage the entire life cycle of energy projects, from their origin to their operation and maintenance, and the management of the resulting assets.
Public Consultation Boards
To explore our consultation material in more detail, click ‘view documents’ below to find a downloadable link to pdfs.
FAQs
What does a solar farm consist of?
A solar farm typically includes several key components to ensure it functions efficiently and safely:
Grid Capacity: A connection point to the local electricity grid with sufficient capacity to export generated power.
Electrical Infrastructure: On-site apparatus such as a private substation or transformer and a series of inverters distributed evenly throughout the site. Transformers are usually around 3 metres tall.
Solar Panels: Panels mounted on metal frames that are screwed directly into the ground, without the need for concrete foundations.
Row Spacing: At least a 4-metre clearance gap between each row of panels. This allows access for maintenance vehicles, facilitates sheep grazing, and prevents shading between rows.
Perimeter Fencing: Fencing is required for insurance, theft prevention, and safety. Deer fences or dark mesh fencing are commonly used to blend with the surrounding landscape while allowing access for smaller mammals.
How is the land managed while the solar farm is in operation?
During the operation of the solar farm, the land will continue to be actively managed to support both biodiversity and agricultural use.
Sheep Grazing: The site will predominantly be used for sheep grazing, preserving its agricultural purpose while naturally controlling vegetation.
Landscape Strategy: A specialist land management team will implement a landscape strategy that includes planting native trees, hedgerows, and wildflower meadows to boost biodiversity.
Low-Impact Approach: There will be an active avoidance of chemical pesticides and herbicides, supporting an organic and environmentally sensitive approach to land care.
Softworks Plan: A detailed softworks plan, outlining planting schemes and ecological enhancements, is available in the Documents section of this website
What environmental studies are carried out?
Environmental constraints are identified early in the design process to help minimise impact. Detailed assessments are undertaken by specialists and typically include:
Biodiversity
Cultural heritage
Noise
Traffic
Landscape and visual impacts
Hydrology and flood risk
These studies support the planning approvals process and ensure that potential impacts are properly mitigated.
What can be recycled?
The vast majority of solar panel materials can be recycled, and ABEI Energy is committed to following good industry practice when it comes to decommissioning and land restoration.
Around 99% of a typical solar panel is made up of recyclable materials such as glass, aluminium, steel, copper, silica, and certain plastics. As recycling infrastructure continues to improve across the UK and Europe, the ability to recover and repurpose these materials has become more viable and environmentally beneficial.
At the end of the solar farm’s operational life, the site will be decommissioned in line with current best practice. This includes removing all infrastructure and restoring the land, with recycling and reuse of materials prioritised wherever possible. ABEI Energy plans responsibly for the full lifecycle of each project, including the end-of-life phase.
Do solar farms affect property values?
There is currently no clear evidence that solar farms negatively impact property values. At ABEI Energy, we take care to design our sites with sensitivity to the local area and nearby residents.
Where possible, we ensure solar farms are set back from residential properties and incorporate new planting — such as hedgerows and trees — to help screen views and integrate the project into the surrounding landscape. This approach not only reduces visual impact but also supports biodiversity and local habitat creation.
By prioritising thoughtful design and community engagement, we aim to ensure that our projects sit well within the local context and continue to respect the character and value of the area.
Solar on rooftops and brownfield sites - what are the issues?
We fully support the use of rooftops and brownfield land for solar power — and we would like to see solar panels installed on every suitable home, commercial rooftop, and public building across the UK.
However, retrofitting solar panels on existing buildings — particularly large commercial rooftops — can be extremely challenging. Many are limited by structural issues, complex ownership arrangements, high upfront costs, or prohibitively high business rates. These factors often make rooftop solar commercially or technically unviable, despite strong interest.
We also support building solar farms on brownfield land wherever feasible. In practice, though, most brownfield sites in the UK are prioritised for higher-value commercial or residential development, which often makes them unavailable or too costly for solar use. Lower-value semi-brownfield sites like former airfields or old industrial land are sometimes used, but these can come with their own challenges — such as limited grid capacity or restrictive planning designations.
Ultimately, while rooftops and brownfields should absolutely form part of the UK’s solar mix, they represent only a small fraction of the land area needed for the UK to meet its legally binding carbon targets by 2050. Well-sited solar farms on low-grade agricultural land can play a vital role in delivering that clean energy future.
We Want To Hear From You
Contact Us
Do you want to know more about the Lime Kiln site?
We would love to hear from you. Fill out the form and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Whether it is a question about our process, a suggestion or you simply want more information, we are here to help.
Our team is ready to provide you with the best service and answer all your questions. Do not hesitate to write to us, together we promote a more sustainable future!
Address Abei Energy
Origin Workspace
40 Berkeley Square, Bristol BS8 1HP
developmentuk@abeienergy.com
