This solar park provides power to the adjoining Westcott Venture Park and is built on an old airfield
Property investment company Rockspring was one of the first to recognise the potential for solar power to provide reliable renewable energy to its tenants on the Westcott Venture Park.
Ownergy undertook the initial designs when the Feed-in Tariffs were first introduced back in early 2010. The planning applications for Phase 1 of the project was applied for in August and granted in November 2010. The system went live on 22nd June 2011 and eligible for Feed-In Tariffs from that date. This is believed to be the first solar park to go live in the UK - see here.
Construction
The german solar park specialists, Solon, were appointed as EPC contractor for the project in April 2011 and construction on site started in May.
System expansion
The total system is being built out in phases to a total of something under 2MW.
The later phases received planning consent in June 2011 and were installed in September.
Key data
| Phase 1 | Total project | |
|---|---|---|
| Rated DC capacity | 408kWp | 1.6MWp |
| Average AC output per annum | 360MWh | 1.2GWh |
| Equivalent to approximately: | 100 homes | 400 homes |
| Carbon saving (against grid electricity) p.a. | 70 tonnes | Nearly 300 tonnes |
| Equivalent to taking off the road about: | 70 cars | Nearly 300 cars |
