The south west’s first solar farm was connected to the grid in Cornwall today.
Based at the site of a disused tin mine at Wheal Jane, Truro, the 1.4 MW farm is the biggest in the UK to date. Covering a 7.2 acre plot, it is the first of many renewable energy projects planned at the reclaimed mine.
The farm’s 5,680 solar panels will generate 1,437 MWh of electricity a year, enough to power the equivalent of 430 homes in the area and save over 737 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
Conor McGuigan, head of planning at solar developer Lightsource Renewable Energy, said: “It’s fantastic to see our first solar farm in the south west operational.
“While it’s been disappointing that the Government has decided not to support the large scale solar sector going forward, the solar farms developed this summer will play a critical role in the supply of green energy in the UK.”
Bernard Ballard, marketing and planning director of the Wheal Jane Group added: “We are thrilled that Wheal Jane is now home to one of the UK’s first solar farms. This is another significant step towards our ambition to have a number of renewable technologies operating on the site providing green energy to businesses based here.”
It’s a big week for Cornish solar farms, with a 1.15MW installation set to go live tomorrow at Hendra Holiday Park, near Newquay.
And a 5MW farm is set to be turned on later this month near Summercourt
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Annual production of 1,437 MWh would represent a capacity factor of 0.083. Not good. Onshore wind achieved 0.22 last year. Nuclear more than 0.9!
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