Energy company EDF Renewables UK has signed a deal to work on a 116MW solar and battery storage portfolio previously invested by DIF Infrastructure VII and ib vogt.
Located in Warley, south England, the site is expected to have 66MW of solar capacity, alongside 50MW of co-located battery storage.
The French-owned energy giant will trade, optimise and offtake renewable energy from the site, in which DIF and ib vogt invested two years ago and secured portfolio financing in 2023.
EDF has also signed an agreement to offtake the physical energy produced by the solar farm over the next ten years, and will use its Powershift platform to optimise energy returns from the project, following its use at a number of other sites in the UK.
Stuart Fenner, director of wholesale market service commercial at EDF, said: “We are very pleased that we have been chosen to deliver trading, optimisation and offtake services for one of the UK’s largest co-located solar and battery sites. This unique deal exemplifies the innovation needed to address our energy challenges, which will help to secure green energy for the future and deliver on our commitment to help Britain achieve net zero.”
EDF’s solar expansion
The international energy supplier has been expanding its UK-based solar portfolio increasingly quickly, reaching milestones across two projects in January 2024 alone.
One of these projects is a 49.9MW solar farm which was green-lit for construction by the Mid Suffolk District Council on Tye Lane in Suffolk.
EDF Renewables also confirmed that the project will establish a £20,000 community benefit fund, which will be paid annually throughout the site’s 35-year lifetime, supporting local social, environmental and community projects.
The firm received another green light for its UK portfolio in the form of a 4MW solar farm, aiming to decarbonise the production of The Macallan’s single malt Scotch whisky in Craigellachie.
The plan is to utilise ground-mounted solar panels to deliver up to 50% of the daytime electricity needs at peak output and 30% of the site’s annual electricity demand.