Chinese solar firm ReneSola has confirmed the connection of four utility-scale solar projects in the UK just days before the 1.3 ROC grace deadline expires.
The four projects, located in Barnstable, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire, have a total generation capacity of 20MW, and all four qualify under the 1.3 ROC mechanism.
While the government closed the subsidy scheme to new entrants on 31 March last year, projects that qualified for the 1.3 ROC grace period have until the end of this month to connect to the grid or miss out on RO certificates.
EPCs up and down the country will be rushing to connect sites prior to the deadline, with a number of large projects having already connected earlier this month.
The four projects connected by ReneSola all use the company’s Virtus II modules and will now be operated by ReneSola until their sale to third parties is agreed.
“We are pleased to announce the grid connection of four utility scale solar projects in the United Kingdom, as we continue to execute our downstream strategy in the first quarter of 2016. These projects reinforced our commitments to the clean energy businesses in the UK and demonstrated our strong competitive advantages in developing downstream projects,” Xianshou Li, chief executive at ReneSola, said.