New solar park in East Sussex given the go-ahead

Renewables investment company Low Carbon has announced that a deal to build a new solar park at Berwick in East Sussex has been closed.

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The solar park is expected to produce 8,705MWh – enough to power more than 2,300 homes – and save 3,514 tonnes of carbon equivalent per annum, and will be completed in collaboration with Macquarie Capital.

John Cole, chief investment officer of Low Carbon, said, “Renewable energy technologies have demonstrated substantial performance improvements and cost reductions and are now being deployed at significant scale.

“Now is the right time for investors to get behind renewable energy and address two of the biggest challenges facing the UK: energy security and climate change.”

 “There is an economic and environmental imperative to make significant private investment in renewable energy. That is what we are doing.”

Earlier in April, Low Carbon unveiled plans for another solar park in Suffolk, part of a group of seven projects that the firm commissioned in 2014. All together, the parks will generate 73MW of electricity.

Recent figures by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggested that solar power would be the world’s main source of electricity by 2050, thanks to falling photovoltaic (PV) installation cost.

Investors and the industry have been demanding clear policies and support from the government to enable this growth, but a recent announcement by energy secretary Ed Davey has disappointed the solar industry, as it is said that the newly set subsidies penalise large solar projects.

Photo: Christine via flickr

Further reading:

Solar energy investment ‘coming of age’ and attracting institutional investors

Suffolk solar park forms part of £80m renewables investment

2013 record year for solar PV but sector still ‘policy-driven’

IEA: solar could be largest electricity source by 2050

The Guide to Limitless Clean Energy 2013