Marston Solar Farm was one of the first major solar parks to be completed in the UK when it was connected back in August 2011 by Lightsource Renewable Energy. Since then, the large-scale market has undergone a dramatic period of change where the available feed-in tariff rate for large-scale solar was significantly slashed, solar costs halved and developments under the Renewable Obligation led a renaissance in the market. All the while, Lightsource’s 4.5MW solar park has been feeding clean electricity into the grid.
The 16,113 panels were predicted to generate 5,666,222kWh of electricity each year. Yet despite the wettest year on record, Marston Solar Farm generated 6% more electricity than expected, exporting 5,991,185kWh to the grid.
Nick Boyle, Lightsource CEO, commented, “These are impressive figures and we are delighted to be able to report them back to the residents of Marston who have given their support to the scheme. It is heartening to see a community care so much about the environment and I hope they regard it as their own solar farm”
Boyle added: “Interestingly, last October the results of a YouGov poll showed that 72 per cent of respondents thought the UK should be looking to use more solar power, so the enthusiasm we are seeing in Marston appears to be indicative of a general feeling throughout the UK.”
Below is a time lapse video of Marston Solar Farm’s construction:
