Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the £530,000 community compensation payment listed in the Community funds for transmission infrastructure guidance for the installation of a substation applies to substations installed as part of a wider solar development.

The £530,000 figure is not compensation. It is a community benefit recognising, transparently, the vital role that host communities play in delivering nationally important clean energy infrastructure.

The guidance applies only to onshore electricity transmission assets including transmission substations delivered by transmission network project developers. Whether a substation is associated with a solar farm or another project does not alter this: applicability is determined by its status as an in‑scope onshore transmission asset.

DESNZ has consulted on a mandatory community benefits scheme for low carbon energy infrastructure, including solar, a response will be published in due course.