The £450 million subsidy-free project is being built on 364 hectares of arable land on the north coast of County Kent in south-east England, less than 100 kilometres from central London. With a peak output of 350 megawatts, the park, consisting of 880,000 solar modules, will supply up to 81,000 households with affordable green electricity. The plan is to establish itself as one of the UK's most cost-effective electricity providers. In addition, the pioneering project will make a significant contribution to reducing the UK's dependence on fossil fuels and cutting C02 emissions by around 68,000 tonnes per year.
The decision comes at an important time, as the UK is the first major economy to pass legislation to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. There is general agreement that action on climate change must be taken now. Cleve Hill Solar Park offers a low-cost, safe and low-carbon way to provide clean energy to thousands of homes.
Planned construction start in spring 2021
Matthias Brückmann, Managing Director of the parent company Wircon: "We are delighted to have received approval for this groundbreaking solar project. Cleve Hill Solar Park will provide clean, renewable and affordable solar power on a large scale, leading the way towards the UK's target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It is the UK's first non-subsidised large-scale solar project and our thanks go to all those who have helped make it possible. We are now focusing on getting the project up and running quickly to ensure it is completed and connected on time by May 2022".
The promoters will now continue to work with local authorities, stakeholders and communities to meet their obligations to provide advice and meet conditions ahead of the start of construction, which is scheduled for spring 2021. The Green Energy Programme is expected to be operational by April 2022, providing a rapid response to urgent climate and clean energy needs.
East-west orientation of the modules for higher yield
Due to the joint venture's decision to use an east-west orientation of the modules in the Cleve Hill Solar Park for the first time in the UK, the project will be able to generate 44% more electricity than would be possible at the same location with south-facing modules. Together with its partner Hive Energy Ltd., Wirsol Energy Ltd. has worked hard to develop the energy storage possibilities for the project. On-site energy storage offers considerable advantages - both in terms of decarbonisation and security of supply.
This calculation is based on an irradiation analysis, which assumes that the site will achieve 330 MW in an east-west orientation [export 313 GWh/year], but only 178 MW in a south orientation [export 217 GWh/year
A boost for the low-carbon economy
Creating green jobs and scaling up renewable energy programs are some of the measures that the government has identified as priorities as part of the country's green recovery. The f450 million Cleve Hili Solar Park will create direct and indirect permanent jobs and contribute to the f2 billion euro low carbon power sector, supporting over 47,000 jobs in the supply chain.
Benefits for biodiversity
From the outset, the joint venture has worked with local stakeholders, local groups and conservation organisations to achieve significant local environmental benefits in the design of the project, for instance:
- a specific landscape and biodiversity management plan, covering an open grassland area that is likely to be one of the largest grassland areas in the South East of England, achieving a 65% increase in the net gain in local biodiversity
- 56 hectares of specially-managed wintering bird habitat, developed in consultation with the RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and Natural England and Kent Wildlife Trust;
- an agreement with the Environment Agency to collaborate with their reorganisation programme in order to return the site to marshland in the future. (HCN)
