EPC contractor and PV manufacturer Conergy has completed a 4.5MW solar farm in the UK, for solar developer Lightsource Renewable Energy.
Located in the village of Lovedean in Hampshire, southern England, the plant will produce about 4,600MWh of clean solar power annually.
Conergy served as the general contractor by providing engineering and designing services as well as component supplier and main constructor for this plant. The project brings Conergy’s participation in UK solar farms to around 30MW in power output.
Lightsource is the legal owner of the entire plant and the company will utilise the plant for the next 25 years.
The plant, equipped with 18,500 modules on Conergy SolarLinea mounting systems, has already connected to the grid.
Nick Boyle, Lightsource’s CEO said: “We were faced with yet another tight deadline and they delivered. The results of solar PV installations in the first quarter of this year show we are well on track in achieving the government’s target of 22GW installed by 2020. We have seen the industry grow from strength to strength in a very short space of time. It is my firm belief that the UK now has one of the most robust solar markets in the world in which Lightsource has played a significant role and will continue to do so alongside our industry partners.”
The company is expecting a rapid growth in large-scale solar deployment the following months due to the government-mandated Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) and power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Managing director of Conergy UK, Robert Goss said: “Large-scale power plants are gaining in importance. Large-scale free-field solar plants are gaining in importance in the UK, driven by government targets for renewable energy generation. Energy prices meanwhile continue to rise, driving growth in residential installations and large-rooftop projects. Put together, we expect annual growth in UK solar of around 13% over the next few years.”
Earlier this month Lightsource said it had completed 133MW of solar capacity in the first quarter of 2013 and now accounting for a third of deployment nationally.
