TGC Renewables has secured planning permission for a new 4.8MW solar park in Devon ahead of a major push for new UK solar developments.
The planned solar park will host 20,690 modules across 12 hectares of land near the village of Haberton in Devon.
Commenting on the planned project, Rob Denman, director, TGC Renewables, said: “Each project is different and, like all of our projects, this one created its own challenges. We had to work closely with the local county archaeologists to assess and mitigate any possible impact on any archaeological remains. By working with them we developed a solution that satisfied their concerns and enabled us to obtain planning.”
However, the company said that the uncertainty surrounding the industry following the European Commission investigations into alleged dumping and illegal subsidisation of Chinese solar products has raised the need to develop efficient and high-quality projects.
The park is the first of the company’s planned 100MW of new solar capacity this year, which will be financed under the Renewable Obligation scheme, despite the recent drop in subsidy rate.
“Our pipeline of UK solar projects is a real indicator of the interest and demand from the rural and investor community for solar developments. With traditional assets not generating the returns of previous years, clean energy projects are increasingly attractive,’ concluded Denman.
