Located on the site of a disused tin mine, the 1.4 MW farm covers a 7.2acre plot at Wheal Jane, Truro, and is the first of many renewable energy projects planned at the reclaimed mine.
The farm’s 5,680 solar panels will generate a total of 1,437MWh of electricity a year, which is enough to power the equivalent of 430 homes in the area and save over 737 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
“To see a tin mine diversify into producing 21st century clean solar energy provides an optimistic glimpse of where we’re now heading for our energy production,” said Derry Newman, Solarcentury’s chief executive. “Solarcentury designed and constructed this site, powering over 400 homes, in less than two months.”
Conor McGuigan, Head of Planning, Lightsource Renewable Energy said it is fantastic to see the company’s first solar farm in the region become operational.
“It’s been a race against the clock to get it connected to the grid by the end of the month,” McGuigan said. “Cornwall Council, Western Power Distribution, Wheal Jane Group, 35 Degrees, Solarcentury and the local suppliers have all played a significant role in making this happen.”
But even on a landmark day it was hard to avoid mention of the UK government’s feed-in tariff changes for systems larger than 50kW.
“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,” McGuigan said. “We look forward to helping building owners develop solar projects from this point.”
This is the second of Solarcentury’s large-scale solar parks to reach completion in the UK. The company announced on 27 June that its 748kW system in Oxfordshire was fully operational.
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