The Guardian reports that Vattenfall is to start construction on its first solar project in the United Kingdom this month, as part of a pilot project to help the Swedish energy giant maximize the generation potential of its existing UK sites. The 4.99 megawatt Parc Cynog Solar Farm in Wales is located on the site of an 11-turbine Vattenfall wind farm, which has been operational for 14 years now. Vattenfal stated that it expects the new solar array to start generating power in March.
The 4.99 megawatt Parc Cynog Solar Farm in Wales is located on the site of an 11-turbine Vattenfall wind farm, which has been operational for 14 years now. Vattenfal stated that it expects the new solar array to start generating power in March.
Vattenfall said that co-locating solar power with wind power makes technical sense, as the wind and sun tend to generate clean power at different times. The solar farm will use the same grid connection as the existing wind farm, thus reducing the connection cost.
Co-location sites, also known as hybrid parks are being tested by a number of green energy companies as developers are looking to maximize the capacity of every grid connection. Last October, Eccotricity announced their plans for 3 new hybrid renewable energy parks featuring a mix of sun and wind generation, to give more consistent energy supply form the sites.
Vattenfall added it is overseeing a feasibility study into installing a suite of solar panels on local community buildings as part of the Parc Cynog project and at no cost to the residents.
Click here to read the story on The Guardian
Image credit: curvemakers.com
Solar Trust Centre Team
