BELECTRIC Beat ROC Cutoff With First Quarter UK Projects
BELECTRIC UK has announced that they have connected 43.5MWp of UK solar farms, across five projects, within the first quarter of 2014, with all projects receiving the higher 1.6 ROC subsidy.
The five UK solar farms, Marsh Solar Farm (14 MWp),Weston Longville Solar Farm (10.5MWp), Holton Solar Farm (10MWp - Pictured) Higher Tregarne Solar Farm (5MWp) and Willersey Solar Farm (4MWp), brings the total MWp installed by BELECTRIC UK to 60 MWp. Enough energy to supply the equivalent annual electricity demands of 18,000 houses.
"I'm delighted to announce that BELECTRIC has completed the construction and connection of five solar farms on time and on budget in the first quarter of this year. We have now also reached a milestone of 50MWp of thin film solar photovoltaic panels installed by us in the UK, the majority using First Solar panels, making us the market leader for this technology," said Toddington Harper, CEO BELECTRIC UK.
Three of the power plants were supplied by First Solar and the two companies announced that the projects - all powered by First Solar's advanced thin film modules - will produce approximately 33,900,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year, which is sufficient to supply the energy needs of an estimated 10,200 average homes.
The largest of the three facilities, the 14MWAC Marsh Solar Farm in Wiltshire, is owned by, German asset management group KGAL's ESPF 3 renewable energy fund for institutional investors. The 10.5MWAC Weston Longville Solar Farm in Norfolk and the 10MWAC Holton Solar Farm in Suffolk are owned by the BBIP infrastructure fund. Together, the projects will displace approximately 11,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which is equivalent to planting about 3,260,000 trees or removing over 4,300 cars from Britain's roads.
The plants have been designed to have a minimal impact on the communities and ecosystems they are located in. For instance, Holton Solar Farm has been constructed on an abandoned World War Two-era airfield, RAF Halesworth, with the full approval of the local community. The site will feature a biodiversity enhancement program to further mitigate its impact on local ecosystems. Similarly, Marsh Solar Farm was also built on a decommissioned airfield, while the Weston Longville Solar Farm features a habitat management initiative.
"The United Kingdom is a fast growing photovoltaic market and these plants are an important demonstration of our combined ability to effectively deliver clean, reliable solar energy in the United Kingdom," said Martin Zembsch, Chief Business Development Officer of BELECTRIC. "The plants were completed and grid-connected on schedule and on budget, in keeping with BELECTRIC's quality-based philosophy. We're proud to have partnered with First Solar, whose advanced thin-film modules are powering all three plants."
BELECTRIC and First Solar share a longstanding partnership that spans over a decade: the two groups entered into a joint venture in 2013 and also collaborated on the development of the 128MWAC Templin solar power plant in Germany, the largest deployment of First Solar modules in Europe. An estimated 80% of the 1,400MW of solar electricity generation capacity installed by BELECTRIC, is powered by First Solar modules. "As the United Kingdom embraces the potential of clean and affordable solar electricity, these projects represent a new milestone in the country's development of a sustainable solar energy portfolio," said Stefan Degener, Managing Director, First Solar GmbH. "The projects also represent the latest success in First Solar's longstanding partnership with BELECTRIC, demonstrating how our companies are capable of bringing together industry-leading capabilities and technologies to deliver reliable solar energy in virtually any market."
The subsidy rate for projects under the Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) scheme dropped from 1.6 to 1.4 / MWh on 31st March 2014 and a refusal from government to extend the deadline even in the face of adverse weather conditions such as storms and severe flooding left many developers and EPC's rushing to get projects completed and connected to the grid in time. However BELECTRIC's vertically integrated approach enabled BELECTRIC UK to overcome all the challenges.
"Our unrivalled experience and ability to deliver the highest quality, most efficient systems in the world, is testament to the professionalism and excellence of our workforce that means we were able to successfully complete these projects without setbacks", Toddington continued.
BELECTRIC were the first company to install 1GWp of solar capacity and remain the technology market leaders. We specialise in the development, engineering, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of large scale solar energy projects. With HQ in Germany and more than 20 offices operating across five separate continents BELECTRIC have completed over 3,000 solar rooftop systems, 250 solar farms and more than 50 solar car parks and have installed and connected more than 1.5 GWp of solar projects globally.
