GRS has marked a new milestone in its international expansion with the energization of Larks Green Solar Farm, the first PV plant connected to the national transmission line in the UK. It is a 49.9 MWac / 71 MWdc project for Cero Generation and Enso Energy with the aim of contributing to the growth of renewable energy and energy independence in an area where electricity bills have tripled in the last two years.
The PV plant, located near to National Grid’s Iron Acton substation, near Bristol, is equipped with 152,400 solar panels installed on 80 hectares that will generate more than 73,000 MWh per year, clean energy equivalent to the consumption of 17,300 homes, and will avoid the emission of 20,500 tons of CO2 per year.
First solar EPC in the UK
Larks Green is the first large turnkey photovoltaic (EPC) project that GRS carries out in the United Kingdom, where Gransolar has high growth expectations. For this reason, the company decided to open its own office in London in order to manage more efficiently the relationship with its collaborators and partners, as well as to closely attend to its new projects.
“The different institutions in the United Kingdom are highly aware of where the energy transition should be heading and, in this sense, projects such as Larks Green can make a huge contribution,” says Matt Denyer, Gransolar‘s Country Manager in the UK. “In addition, companies that know the peculiarities of the area and have the capacity to adapt the projects to its needs are highly valued”.
“We have taken a significant step together”
As Cero Generation points out, until now all utility-scale plants have been connected to lower voltage distribution grids, but Larks Green’s milestone is to connect solar power directly to the National Grid transmission grid. In this way, clean energy can be moved over a greater distance and power can be supplied to more remote areas with less favorable conditions for renewables.
“We’re pleased to have partnered with Gransolar on this exciting project, leveraging their vast expertise and international experience to bring to life a solar farm that could change the game for the renewables sector,” says Marta Martinez Queimadelos, CEO of Cero Generation. “By developing the country’s first solar project to connect to the transmission network, supported by co-located battery storage, together we’ve achieved a significant step in advancing the net zero transition.”
The alliance with strategic partners, such as Cero Generation and Enso Energy, has once again been the key to ensuring the success of the project, as Christian Moeckel, Commercial Director at GRS, explains. “Our international strategy is based on finding the best partners throughout the construction process, from those responsible for the civil works to, of course, the client, who communicates their expectations and let us carry out a tailor-made project.”
As part of GRS’s commitment to creating local jobs and contributing to the development of the local economy wherever it builds and operates PV projects, around 250 people were employed in the process of creating the solar plant.
