The University of Manchester has partnered with UK clean energy company Enviromena in a deal that will see up to 65% of its electricity demand supplied through a new solar project.
The university will buy electricity generated from Enviromena’s new solar farm in Medebridge, Essex. Once complete, the Medebridge solar farm will comprise 104,000 panels across 175 acres of land. Construction began in April this year, with energisation expected in the latter half of 2025.
Solar Power Portal has reached out to confirm the site’s expected generation capacity.
The solar farm will see a biodiversity net gain with enhancements to existing hedgerows and a native grassland and wildflower meadow planted beneath and around the solar arrays.
The Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) secures the investment by committing the university to purchase 80% of Medebridge’s total annual generation capacity – about 58 GWh – for the next decade.
Lee Barlow, finance & administration manager, and project lead at the University of Manchester, said: “After nearly three years of rigorous procurement and negotiations, we are proud to announce this landmark agreement, which reinforces our commitment to sustainability whilst delivering best value to our students and stakeholders, in the form of price certainty and supply stability.”
The University of Manchester has set ambitious goals to reduce its environmental impact and in 2022 ended its investments in coal, oil and gas.
Dr Julian Skyrme, director of social responsibility at the University of Manchester, added: “As consumers many of us may have ‘green’ or renewable energy tariffs. These are important, but they don’t put ‘additional’ renewable power into the grid in the same way as a power purchase agreement. By signing a PPA we’re supporting not only a greener University of Manchester, but also a greener energy grid across the UK.”
Enviromena currently manages over 300MW of renewables projects. It is also working on a 3GW+ pipeline of renewable energy projects in the UK and Italy to decarbonise electricity networks and support the global drive towards net zero.
Enviromena’s CEO, Chris Marsh, said: “We’re delighted to partner with the University to support their zero carbon ambitions. In addition to reducing the University’s carbon emissions over the next 10 years, the site itself will benefit the local habitat over its useful life until mid-2060.”
Solar Power Portal’s publisher, Solar Media, will host the UK Solar Summit on 4-5 June 2024 in London. The event will explore the UK’s new landscape for utility and rooftop solar, looking at the opportunities within a GW+ annual market and much more.