Warrington Borough Council has signed a £62 million contract with Gridserve for the construction of two “pioneering” subsidy-free solar farms near York and Hull.
With a combined capacity of more 60MW, they will produce enough power each year to meet 100 per cent of the council’s annual needs. Both are expected to be combined with large battery storage systems.
Gridserve chief executive and founder Toddington Harper said: “Warrington is leading the way in showing councils how solar and battery storage can help generate sustainable income to deliver vital public services, meet climate targets with clean energy, and support a low-carbon economy.
“These will be the most advanced solar farms in the UK – and quite possibly the world – ushering in a new era of subsidy-free, truly sustainable energy.
“We’ve completely rethought the solar model, looking in detail at how to maximise value at every step, and these projects will also pioneer the use of cutting-edge technologies that serve the grid”.
Speaking to Utility Week, Harper said most existing solar farms receive subsidies on a per megawatt hour basis, incentivising them to achieve the maximum output, with little regard for when it is produced and therefore how much it is worth.
On this basis, the panels have been installed in fixed south-facing positions to reduce costs and ensure there are performing at their best around noon when the sun is at its highest point in the sky.
As a result, they tend to produce the most power at around the same time, depressing prices on the wholesale market. Harper said this phenomenon, often referred to as price cannibalisation, was less of an issue when subsidies were still available.
“But the challenge of doing that in a non-subsidy world is you haven’t got this fixed priced to rely on,” he added. “You have to ensure that the energy you produce is as valuable as possible.”
Harper said the solar farms being built by Gridserve will be the first in the UK to feature panels mounted on horizontal pivots that automatically track the sun from east to west as it rises and then sets. They will therefore produce power more evenly throughout the day, with output peaking in the morning and afternoon rather than at midday.
He said they will also be the first in the country to utilise bifacial panels with transparent backplates that enable them to absorb ambient light through the rear. The combination of these two technologies, along with storage, will not only enable each panel to produce more power overall, but also increase the value of their output.
As well as soaking up cheap electricity to sell when prices rise, the battery storage systems will additionally be used provide support services to National Grid, thereby maximising the income generated from the sites’ connections.
Construction work is due to begin shortly on the 34.7MW solar farm near York, which will feature a co-located 27MW battery storage system. It is expected to become operational in October 2019.
Once completed, Gridserve will start work on the 25.7MW sister project near Hull. The company will operate and maintain the solar farms on behalf of Warrington Borough Council for their full 30-year lifespans.
Their construction will be financed by Investec Bank and Leapfrog Finance.
The leader of Warrington Borough Council, councillor Russ Bowden, said: “This deal is good news for Warrington residents and good news for the environment.
“The solar farms will secure our energy supply, give us control over our energy prices, contribute to reducing fuel poverty and generate an estimated operating surplus of £150 million over 30 years that can be invested back into the most important frontline services.
“Councils have a major role to play in helping to meet carbon emission reduction targets. These two sites are a working model that we hope other local authorities will follow.”
Electricity from the York solar farm will initially be sold on the wholesale market, although a number of other local authorities have expressed an interest in buying its power directly.
Gridserve and Warrington Borough Council are also planning to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations linked to both sites once they are up and running. They will become the first in a nationwide network of “electric forecourts” being developed Gridserve that will offer superfast charging for up to 24 EVs at a time.