Gridserve has completed and handed over another of its advanced hybrid solar + battery farms to Warrington Borough Council in the north-west England.
At more than 88 acres, the equivalent to more than 50 football pitches, the 23MWp Cirencester Hybrid Solar Farm is the first DC-coupled solar farm of this size in the UK, according to Gridserve.
Its commercial model uses battery storage and sophisticated technologies to maximise revenue and help balance the grid – both during the day with direct solar generation and at night with energy stored in the 51MWh battery.
Located in Witpit Lane, Cirencester, the 23MWp solar farm includes more than 43,000 bifacial solar panels on trackers, co-located with 51 MWh of DC-coupled energy storage.
Electricity from Cirencester Hybrid Solar Farm will be used to help provide net zero energy for Warrington’s fleet of all-electric buses, coming next year, whilst a hybrid solar farm in York – handed over in December 2019 – is providing energy which can be sold into the grid.
A third site in Hull is supplying all of the Council’s net zero energy needs, making Warrington Council the first local authority in the UK to produce all of its own electricity, Gridserve said.
Gridserve chief executive Toddington Harper said: “It is our collective responsibility to tackle the climate change emergency. Projects like Cirencester Hybrid Solar Farm require no government subsidy and deliver secure, affordable and plentiful energy.
“They demonstrate that the UK can meet its net zero obligations, and in partnership with Warrington Borough Council, enable us to deliver radical carbon reductions to move the needle on climate change in the fastest possible timeframes, and at the lowest cost.”