Two further UK solar farms announced as investors back fast-expanding industry
The UK's fast-expanding solar farm industry received another boost yesterday renewable energy investors Low Carbon and Macquarie Capital announced plans for two new sites boasting 34MW of capacity.
The projects in Wiltshire and East Anglia are designed to provide 13MW and 21MW of capacity respectively and mark the second phase in the two companies' plans to deliver 300MW of UK solar capacity.
The companies said they now had three projects boasting 26MW of capacity under construction and due to come online in the first half of 2014, while the two new sites are also expected to be completed by the end of June.
Under the partnership, the two companies have agreed to work together to develop a series of projects, with Macquarie Capital having committed to providing the necessary construction funding.
"We've really hit the ground running in 2014 and are excited to get another two sites into construction from this investment," said John Cole, chief investment officer at Low Carbon, in a statement. "These projects demonstrate again our ability to quickly and effectively manage and package low risk renewables projects for investment. We are firmly committed to creating a low carbon future by reducing carbon emissions whilst making use of technological advances in photovoltaics to provide returns to investors."
The announcement comes in the same week as Welborne Solar Limited announced it had secured planning approval for a 37MW solar park near Winchester, while Lightsource Renewable Energy announced that it was planning to increase its workforce from 160 to 260 staff this year to support its plans for a new fleet of solar farms.
Meanwhile, solar panel manufacturer Hanwha SolarOne Co announced earlier this month that it has signed a deal with Germany-based developer ib vogt GmbH to provide 20.5MW for a planned solar farm in the UK.
"We are very pleased to work with ib vogt once again, as we continue to expand our presence in the United Kingdom - one of our key markets in Europe," said Maengyoon Kim, managing director of Hanwha SolarOne GmbH. "With our high-quality PV modules, flexible ordering structure and capable sales team, we are ideally positioned to meet the United Kingdom's solar power needs. We look forward to continuing to serve this important market in the future."
