Lightsource Acquires 6.3MW Solar Farm From Solarcentury
Lightsource Renewable Energy, the UK's largest solar energy generator announced the successful acquisition of a new 6.3 Megawatt solar farm developed and built in West End, Southampton by Solarcentury.
Announcing the latest addition to the company's portfolio, Managing Director of Delivery for Lightsource, Kareen Boutonnat comments, "Utility scale solar PV like this site on Chalcroft Farm is a key component in the UK's drive towards achieving its renewable energy targets. We are pleased to continue working with our development partners like Solarcentury , JA Solar and Hilti to play a key role in delivering these targets."
Boutonnat continues to add, "There has been much speculation regarding the viability of utility scale solar development in the UK recently. We stand firm in our belief that this market will continue to grow further and we will support this growth proactively to the best of our ability".
The total rented land from Chalcroft Farm is 13.5 Hectares however the panels and infrastructure of the solar farm only occupy about 30% in total. A total of 25,632 JA Solar panels are mounted on aluminium frames supplied by Hilti which are rammed into the ground. This form of farmland diversification is of minimal impact to the landscape and therefore proving popular to farmers who wish to source a form of guaranteed income against the recent atrocious weather conditions. The solar farm has now been connected to the grid and at peak generation times, it is expected to produce enough green electricity to power over 1800 households continually without any noise or pollution.
Rémy Carera, Regional Sales Manager UK/France, Hilti says: "The installed capacity per solar farm in the UK is increasing every month. Chalcroft, with 6.3MW represents 61.8km of rails and 2910 piles. Although this sounds like a lot of infrastructure, it still represents a small percentage of the rented land which is why large scale solar PV installations are becoming increasingly popular with farmland diversification. We are very honoured that Solarcentury and Lightsource rely on Hilti's expertise for their large scale solar projects."
Peter Sermon, Vice President of Sales, Solarcentury comments: "Chalcroft is a great example of our end-to-end development expertise. From identifying the site, to implementing the entire EPC process and preparing it for its eventual owner, our team shows why Solarcentury is a leader in this sector."
"We are pleased to continue our partnership with Lightsource and SolarCentury who not only lead in the efficient planning and execution of UK large scale PV farms but also continue to maintain the very highest standards in their build and operations." Alastair Mounsey, UK Country Manager, JA Solar comments.
