London-headquartered solar developer, Primrose Solar has connected a 41MW solar farm near Launceston in Cornwall.
The solar farm is one of a series of >40MW solar farms that will be connected under the outgoing renewable obligation. Primrose Solar estimates that the project will generate enough electricity to power 9,000 local homes per year.
Primrose Solar said that the solar farm, which sits across 81 hectares of land, is currently the largest operational solar farm in the UK but warns that it will soon be superseded by its own 48MW site in Hampshire.
Commenting on the project, Giles Clark, CEO of Primrose Solar said: “We’re very pleased to have connected another 41MW of solar power to the grid, making an important contribution to local and national renewable energy targets and cutting carbon emissions.
“While Canworthy is probably the largest operational solar farm in the UK, we think it will be overtaken within a couple of months by another Primrose site – Southwick Estate Solar Farm in Hampshire, which is currently being built and will have a capacity of 48MW. This puts Primrose Solar firmly at the forefront of the large-scale solar industry.”
The decision by the government to remove renewable obligation support for all solar developments over 5MW from April 2015 will mean that developers looking to continue to deploy large-scale solar sites will have to access support through the contracts for difference (CfD) mechanism.
However, the scheme is facing serious delays after unsuccessful applicants have appealed against the decisions made.