Gridserve has acquired the 10MW Clayhill solar farm in Bedfordshire from the developer Anesco, which will continue to provide operations and maintenance services for the site under a 20-year agreement.
The installation, which also features a 6MW battery storage system, became the first solar farm in the UK to be built without any government subsidies and was officially opened in 2017 by the climate change minister at the time, Claire O’Neill.
Commenting on the sale to Gridserve, Anesco chief executive Mark Futyan said: “Engineering a subsidy-free development at Clayhill was a landmark achievement for the industry and is something we’re very proud of. It has proven to be a solid investment and we look forward to working with Gridserve to ensure Clayhill continues to generate the optimal financial and environmental returns.”
He continued: “Moving from being an asset owner to a services provider was always our intention and the sale of Clayhill forms a significant part of that. This transaction will fuel growth by enabling us to bring new projects into being and to expand our operations and maintenance, asset optimisation and eco divisions.”
Gridserve will use some of the electricity generated at the solar farm to supply the “Electric Forecourt” it is building at Braintree in Essex, which is planned to be the first in a nationwide network of 100 solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
“The addition of Clayhill to our portfolio – which marks Gridserve’s first acquisition of an operational solar farm – will enable us to guarantee that the amount of energy used at our Electric Forecourt in Braintree has been generated from zero carbon solar power,” said Gridserve chief commercial officer Jeremy Cross.
“Our mission is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and this project will help us to support the UK’s transition to net zero transport in the earliest possible timeframes.”
Hitachi Capital agreed to loan Gridserve “ten of millions” of pounds in April to help roll out its EV charging network.