Image: Ancala

A 36.6MW subsidy-free solar farm has gone into planning in Scotland as Green Energy International (GEI) announces a development pipeline of over 700MW.

The solar farm is to be located at Bilbo Farm in Aberdeenshire, with the aim of construction to start in spring 2020 and for the site to be connected in July 2020. GEI has spent around 15 months on the Bilbo Farm site so far.

Two projects have gone into planning so far and a third site is to be submitted at the end of August, the three sites totalling 80MW. GEI is hoping to have a second portfolio submitted by the end of 2019, this one totalling 100MW.

The solar firm is looking at developing a further 16 sites, extending its development pipeline to 2024, with 700MW currently under development. The aim is to submit two sites per month into planning over the next year.

Five public consultations have been conducted so far into the development of the sites. Arthur Bell, CEO of Green Energy International, told Solar Power Portal the feedback the company has received from residents, councillors and MPs has been “absolutely outstanding”.

“We thoroughly check the viability of our projects at a very early stage, and this assessment is an ongoing procedure. Our aim is to ensure that we put the right project in the right place first time. Public support for this project has proven this.

“There is a real buzz of solar activity in the UK and Scotland is a fantastic location with good irradiation, flat well screened land and most importantly the emphatic support for renewable energy,” Bell added.