{"id":254251,"date":"2016-08-02T13:03:35","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T13:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.lightsourcebp.com\/news\/uks-first-contracts-for-difference-cfd-project-connected\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T10:14:36","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T10:14:36","slug":"uks-first-contracts-for-difference-cfd-project-connected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandbox.lightsourcebp.com\/uk\/news\/uks-first-contracts-for-difference-cfd-project-connected\/","title":{"rendered":"UK’s First Contracts for Difference (CfD) Project Connected"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UK's First Contracts for Difference (CfD) Project Connected<\/h1>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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Lightsource Renewable Energy, Europe\u2019s leading solar energy generator, has announced the connection of the UK\u2019s first Contracts for Difference (CfD) solar farm with \u00a38.7million of funding from The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (\u201cRBS\u201d).<\/p>\n

Connected on June 30th, the Charity Farm installation, in Shropshire, has an installed capacity of 11.94MW and was one of five solar projects to win support in the first round of CfD auctions last year \u2014 the mechanism which replaced the Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) scheme for projects over 5MW.<\/p>\n

The CfDs work by offering stable revenue for electricity generators at a fixed level \u2014 known as the \u2018strike\u2019 price. Generators \u2014 such as Lightsource \u2014 receive income from selling electricity to the grid as normal, but when that rate drops below the agreed \u2018strike\u2019 price they receive a top up fee from the government. Charity Farm won its contract with a strike price of \u00a379.23 per megawatt hour (2012 price).<\/p>\n

All power generated by the project will be purchased by supplier Axpo UK Limited in a deal worth \u00a37.5m over seven years.<\/p>\n

A total of 71.55MW of solar projects were awarded CfDs in 2015 and the Lightsource project is the first solar CfD project to be delivered.<\/p>\n

Lightsource teamed up with premier EPC contractor Biosar Energy (UK) Limited to install the project \u2014 with both teams drawing on their extensive experience and technical expertise to complete the project in just over two months.<\/p>\n

The Charity Farm installation will deliver enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 4,000 homes and will save 6,476 tonnes of carbon emissions each year \u2014 equivalent to taking 1,439 cars off the roads.<\/p>\n

Nick Boyle, CEO at Lightsource, said:<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019re obviously delighted to add another successful project to our portfolio, which showcases the immense strength in depth shown by our in-house teams. Lightsource is a trusted partner and we have been able to show that we always deliver on our promises. The project also clearly demonstrates the many benefits of solar energy, above and beyond the generation of clean energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cA truly competitive system is fair to all concerned, but there has been no new round of auctions announced for solar as yet and, if the UK is serious about the future of its energy security, it is important that this is addressed. Great strides have been made in the industry and we firmly believe that solar has a significant role to play in the overall UK energy mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kamal Khoury, Axpo UK\u2019s Managing Director, said:<\/strong> \u201cThe relationship with Lightsource is an important milestone for Axpo\u2019s renewables business in the UK. Lightsource has been a pioneer in Solar PV development, and we will look forward to increased cooperation amongst our respective companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Craig Love, Director, Infrastructure and Structured Finance, RBS, said:<\/strong> \u201cWe are pleased that we were able to support this latest Lightsource project \u2014 the UK\u2019s first CfD financing for solar energy generation. RBS has been at the forefront of the UK solar market since its inception in 2010 and has to-date arranged funding for solar farms able to produce more than 1.8GW of power. We have a strong pipeline of solar projects going forward and continue to focus on helping our customers in the UK and across Western Europe.”<\/p>\n\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

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