Bristol’s first community-owned solar park at Moorhouse Lane was launched by the city’s mayor George Ferguson last weekend.
The 1.8MW project, developed by Solarsense, was funded and is owned by Low Carbon Gordano (LCG) co-operative, which has been established to help the local community reduce energy costs.
LCG purchased the site from Bath and West Community Energy before contracting Solarsense for the land’s development, with work eventually starting in November 2014.
Construction finished last month and Ferguson said it was “wonderful” for the solar farm to be built in Bristol, which is the current European Green Capital of the Year.
“The world is looking at what we are doing and later on we’ll be setting up our own energy company. That gives a real sense of making sure everybody in Bristol will take part in our battle against climate change. But it’s not just about climate change.
“With this project, Low Carbon Gordano will inspire a lot of people to think a lot more about how we can harness the power of the sun in a much more practical way and I will do everything I can to encourage the new government in Westminster to support renewables and other alternative forms of energy,” Ferguson said.
LCG now aims to develop a second community-funded project at around half the size in Ham Lane.
