German renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. has commenced commercial operations at the 30MW Bracks solar farm in the UK, while obtaining planning consent for building two more solar plants, Clump Farm and Hill Farm, ReNews reported.
Located in Cambridgeshire, Bracks will generate enough clean energy to meet the needs of nearly 8,000 British households and help offset nearly 11,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.
As part of a biodiversity drive, the company said that it will allow sheep grazing at the solar farm from next year and local farmers will be given first opportunity for the licence.
Construction on the solar plant began last September, and at the end of last year it was sold to Railways Pension Scheme, managed by Railpen.
BayWa r.e. agreed to provide long-term operations and maintenance services for the project along with commercial and asset management services.
Located in Leicestershire, the Clump Farm and Hill Farm solar plants have an installed capacity of 49.9MW and 18MW, respectively.
The two projects are being developed in partnership with Grüne Energien Solar, a Germany-based decentralised renewable energy developer.
When completed, the solar plants will generate sufficient clean energy to power nearly 22,000 homes while adding to the environmental objectives of Hinkley and Bosworth Borough and Blaby District Councils.
With planning consent now secured, construction on the solar plants is expected to begin in 2025.
ReNews quoted BayWa r.e. UK managing director John Milligan as saying: “Solar farms are essential to achieve the UK’s goal of net-zero carbon by 2050 and ensure homes and businesses can be powered by clean, renewable and domestically generated energy.
“The successful commercial operation of Bracks solar farm, as well as the approvals for Clump Farm Solar and Hill Farm Solar, are testament to the hard work put in by our team. With a development pipeline of 1.9GW across solar, wind and storage projects, we are looking forward to delivering more projects over the coming years.”
