Foresight Solar Fund adds 40MW of solar capacity to UK grid
Investment company flicks switch on three solar projects worth a combined £51m
Foresight Solar Fund has connected three solar plants to the grid, delivering almost 40MW of new capacity.
The 17.8MW Castle Eaton project, the 12.2MW Highfields project, and the 9.6MW High Penn project were all acquired by the Jersey-registered investment company from developer SunEdison for £22.6m, £15.8m, and £12.6m respectively.
The projects were all identified in the company's IPO prospectus prior to its £150m float in October, which included 55MW of capacity to be acquired from SunEdison, including the 32MW Wymeswold plant which has been operational and accruing revenues since November 2013.
The IPO was one of a number of multimillion pound funds launched in recent months, including efforts from Greencoat, NextEnergy, Bluefield, the Renewables Infrastructure Group, and John Laing, whose Environmental Assets Group commenced trading on the London Stock Exchange yesterday.
Foresight also announced that it has already agreed a further deal for the 10.7MW Hunters Race project and said it expects further announcements to follow.
In related news, a 20,000 panel solar park at the Port of Milford Haven has also come online. The site at Liddeston Ridge is running at 25 per cent capacity while Western Power completes upgrades to the lines connecting it with the National Grid. Full power output is expected this month, which will give the site a potential output of up to 5MWh of electricity - enough to power a thousand homes.
The port is also pushing ahead with plans to put 400 panels on the vast roof space of the Grade II listed Sunderland Hangars in Pembroke Dock.
"We have already installed 2500 panels on our roofs and if approved this latest project will take our total carbon emissions savings to over 2,200 tonnes each year," said Tim James, the Port of Milford Haven's renewable energy manager. "These are special buildings of course and we are working with conservation bodies including The Ancient Monuments Commission to ensure their historic appearance is preserved."
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