Statkraft has signed a PPA with Gresham House, and a CPPA with Workspace simultaneously, for the Gresham House-managed Beavor Grange Solar Farm in Devon, England.
The 20MW PV site is large enough to power the equivalent of 6000 homes, or two-thirds of Workspace’s total power demand, Statkraft said.
The agreement runs for 10 years from February 2024 and will see Workspace receive as-generated power from the project and receive renewable energy guarantees of origin (REGOs) to show the source of the power.
Workspace has also agreed to use Statkraft’s Firming service, which converts as-generated power into baseload, allowing the company to incorporate this into its standard supply contract.
A Firming service is where Statkraft take the as-generated power from the asset and buys power from the market when the generator is not producing energy and sell surplus during high production periods.
This means a pre-agreed consistent amount of electricity is provided to the offtaker.
A long-term agreement such as this provides certainty to the generator and investor confidence, therefore facilitating the building of more renewable energy infrastructure, as well as providing budget certainty to the offtaker, which can lock in a 10-year price for their power, Statkraft said.
Acting as a market integrator, Statkraft sourced renewable generators in the UK by issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to find appropriate renewables projects looking for a long-term offtaker for its asset.
While doing this, Statkraft also searched for corporates looking to source clean energy as part of their green ambitions and were able to link the two parties.
Statkraft’s head of downstream Andy Cooper said: “We’re delighted to bring Beavor Grange and Workspace together in this long-term agreement.
“Both parties have secured prices for 10 years and using Statkraft’s Firming service, Workspace is able to easily transfer this CPPA into a standard supply contract.
“This contract is one of a growing number of Firming contracts that Statkraft has signed, and we’re anticipating even higher volumes of business in this area during 2024.”
Workspace head of sustainability Sonal Jain said: “Workspace’s partnership with Statkraft for a long-term power purchase agreement marks a significant step towards our net zero carbon commitment.
“The recent agreement at COP28 for countries to triple their renewable energy capacity by 2030 is supported by decisions like ours, which enable new capacity on the grid, rather than simply procuring from the existing supply.
“This is by far the most responsible way for businesses to secure a substantial share of clean, green electricity.”
Investment director at Gresham House Wayne Cranstone added: “We are delighted to have signed another PPA with Statkraft and to have the Corporate PPA with Workspace Group.
“It is important for us to be able to secure index-linked, long-term revenue for the power produced from our solar farm, so this 10-year CPPA is ideal and we look forward to working with both parties over the coming years.”