Construction start for solar farm in Great Britain
Work is now starting on Vattenfall’s first solar farm, Parc Cynog in Wales, UK. It will be a combined wind and solar farm. There has been a wind farm with eleven turbines at Parc Cynog for 14 years. The 5 megawatt (MW) solar farm could already begin generating electricity at the end of March 2016.
“Wind and solar power complement each other well, as the sun shines in summer while winter is generally the windy season. By building the solar park adjacent to a wind farm, we obtain a number of synergies that we can use. This applies not least to the roads and existing electrical installations that can be used for shared power feed to the grid from both solar and wind. And as we already have good relations with the landowners, we can build on these in order to conclude agreements for using the land,” says Claus Wattendrup, Head of Business Development within BA Wind.
A commercial investment in solar energy extends Vattenfall’s portfolio of renewable energy, and the company is now looking at further ways of combining solar energy with wind power.”Solar energy is a proven technology, and its costs are dropping quickly. We will also invest more in decentralised solar energy and help our customers with the planning, construction and operation of their solar installations. Electricity generation from solar installations will increase in the years to come and is a growth sector for Vattenfall,” says Claus Wattendrup.
The Parc Cynog solar farm will consist of a total of 18,860 solar panels and will have an installed capacity of 4.99 MW, which will mean an annual output sufficient to supply 1,441 households. The site is currently used for sheep grazing, and will continue to be used for that purpose even after the solar park is completed.
