London-based PV company, Solarcentury has announced that it has passed the 100MW milestone for consented solar farms in the UK.
The company states that it is particularly proud of the achievement because the target has been reached with a 100% success rate in securing planning for its 120MW portfolio of UK solar farms, which includes a number of >10MW sites such as a 14.8MW development in Hardingham and a 12.3MW site in Chediston.
The large-scale solar market in the UK has experienced massive growth over the last 18 months, growing by 600% during 2013. However, the rise of large-scale solar developments has led Greg Barker, the energy and climate change minister, to warn industry against ‘inappropriately’ sited solar farm developments.
Solarcentury claims that it works hard to minimise impact on local residents and maximise the benefits for wildlife of all its solar developments. As per the Solar Trade Association’s 10 commitments, the developer ensures that sites are screened from view and that every solar farm is seeded with wildflowers to help boost biodiversity.
Commenting on the milestone, Frans van den Heuvel, CEO at Solarcentury said: “Reaching the 100MW mark in such a short space of time is a real testament to the development team we have here at Solarcentury. Our approach to site selection and planning means we can provide sites that are of a huge benefit to the community, the environment and investors.”
According to analyst NPD Solarbuzz the UK’s large-scale ground-mount pipeline has reached 5GW, comprised of over 550 projects in excess of 250kW and is predicted to exceed 6GW by the end of 2014.