Renewable energy company Dulas delivered the project which has seen around 8,000 solar panels installed at Welsh Water’s Five Fords facility near Wrexham.
The second phase of the development will involve the installation of a further 2,000 solar panels, which will generate 0.5MW of energy and should be completed by March of 2016.
The scheme is part of Welsh Water’s initiative to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent.
Dulas believes Welsh Water’s decision to utilise disused land for the project will be a catalyst for change and encourage more businesses to make the most of commercially redundant sites for similar installations across the UK.
Welsh Water head of energy Mike Pedley said: “Our plans to generate our own energy at Five Fords has allowed us to move one step closer to achieving our ambitious energy reduction targets.
“The process of treating and transporting drinking water and wastewater are extremely energy intensive which is why we set ourselves this challenge to reduce our carbon footprint.”
The solar panels will have an operational life span of 20 years, after which they will either be renewed for future use or the land will be used for agricultural purposes.
A version of this story first appeared on wwtonline.