“Primrose Solar has acquired a new 5MW solar farm site in Leicestershire from Solstice Renewables as the company moves north in search of better grid connections.
The farm, located near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, was granted planning consent in September 2015 and was intended to be a split in two, with a second 1MW farm to be community owned under the government’s shared ownership framework.
While the future of the smaller farm has been put in question following the removal of tax reliefs for community energy projects, Primrose Solar has already appointed a contractor to build its new solar farm, which is due for completion on 31 March 2016. The project is forecast to generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 1,500 typical homes and to save around 2,150 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
The route for the second stage of the HS2 railway line runs close to the site, which is currently used for farming. Solstice Renewables claims solar energy is an appropriate use for the site as it will become more difficult to use as arable land once HS2 is established.
Giles Clark, chief executive of Primrose Solar, added: “Primrose is very pleased to have acquired another good solar farm site from Solstice Renewables as we share the same approach to promoting biodiversity and good stewardship of the land. The route for HS2 runs just north of the site which will make it harder to farm effectively so solar energy is a good use of the land.””
Pratt, David. Solar Power Portal 2 December 2015.