'Solar boom': East of England sees surge in new solar farm developments

The East of England is experiencing a surge in new solar farms, with the number of projects securing grid connection contracts doubling year on year during the first five months of the year.

Grid operator UK Power Networks published new data yesterday revealing that it has experienced an "extraordinary" first half of the year, which saw 34 new solar generation sites firm up connection contracts with the company across Essex, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire between January and May 2021, compared to 17 in the same period last year and just four in 2019.

Once fully operational the new solar farms will generate almost 840MW of energy - two and a half times the amount of new solar generation capacity accepted by UK Power Networks during the same period of 2020.The new capacity is equivalent to more than two million rooftop solar panels and could provide enough clean power for more than 400,000 homes with clean energy.

UK Power Networks said most of the new connections are for mid-size solar farms on former agricultural land as landowners swap crops for clean energy. They are mainly located within a 30-mile radius north of the M25 across Essex, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire - an area favoured by renewable investors due to its flat topography, favourable weather conditions, and its proximity to existing network infrastructure.

The wave of new developments is likely to be particularly welcomed by renewables advocates, as it provides further evidence of how plummeting solar costs and the emergence of energy storage systems can make new projects competitive without reliance on subsidy support.

UK Power Networks said the new sites had also benefited from its new 'flexible connections', which launched in early 2020 and is designed to help distributed generation projects connect "cheaper and faster by removing the upfront costs for upgrading the electricity network".

The contracts see generators agree to temporarily reduce the amount of energy they export at certain times to keep the network within its operational limits. The approach also provides generators with an additional incentive to invest in storage capacity and UK Power Networks confirmed that it has seen a surge in new grid scale battery connections with nine accepted between January and May 2021 boasting a total capacity of 385MW, up from just three projects over the same period last year.

"This extraordinary new wave of solar is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication from teams across our business," said Sotiris Georgiopoulos, head of smart grid development at UK Power Networks. "We've invested, engaged and implemented world-leading innovation to facilitate sustainable renewable energy. Now, we need to go even further and faster to make Net Zero emissions by 2050 a reality."

His comments were echoed by Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), who urged developers and policymakers to now build on the momentum that is underway across the solar sector.

"The rapid expansion of solar capacity in the East of England underlines the region's importance to the UK's energy transition," she said. "Not only will these schemes power more than 400,000 homes with clean, sustainable energy, it will also help stimulate much needed new investment in the region. It is now crucial that this momentum is maintained so we can continue to decarbonise our energy supply chain and meet our net zero ambitions."