NEWS


announces it will build subsidy-free solar plant


Buckinghamshire business park


Abbey Mills pumping station upgrade


A Buckinghamshire business park has announced


plans to build the first subsidy-free industrial solar power plant. Westcott Venture Park, the largest business park in


Buckinghamshire, says it will become the first carbon- negative business park in the UK. The solar plant will generate more power than its tenants use each year – even after allowing for future growth, suggest reports. British Solar Renewables EPC is working on the detailed


design and projected a start for construction in the next few weeks. Once completed, the project should have an installed


capacity exceeding 15MW and cover an estimated 76 acres within Westcott Venture Park. It will be connected via a new cable connection to the local 33kV grid and include provision for adding battery energy storage at a later date. Rod Mordey a director of rockspring property investment


managers, on behalf of the owners of the business park comments: “This pioneering scheme is the UK’s first unsubsidised on-site solar power plant, proving Westcott Venture Park is the ideal location for forward-looking businesses. We are committed to creating an environmen- tally sustainable business park and this is one of the key initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint.” The business park’s first solar plant (1.6 MWp) was


established in 2011 and comprises 6,102 solar panels over 10 acres. It has generated over 11GWh to date avoiding more than 4,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The new project represents a ten-fold increase and will


provide an estimated internal rate of return to the investors of in excess of 7 per cent. Managing director of British Solar Renewables Group,


Graham Harding, said: “Unsubsidised solar is still in the early stages of development but our integrated delivery model gives us a head-start in delivering this and future projects.” Project-managed solar specialists WolfeWare, which


developed the existing solar plant at Westcott, will manage the existing enlargement. Founder Philip Wolfe said: “It is a tribute to the progress


of solar technology that a project of this size is now viable without any contribution from the government or the tax-payer.”


A North Lincolnshire-based anaerobic digestion (AD) plant has been acquired by John


Laing Environmental Assets (JLEN) in a deal worth about £18.1 million. The Merlin AD plant is located in Hibaldstow, North Lincolnshire, and was commissioned in


September 2014. The plant has a thermal capacity ofabout 5MWth and predominantly produces biomethane to be injected to the national gas grid. In addition, the plant also has a 0.5MWe CHP engine and is accredited under the Renewable


Heat Incentive (RHI) and Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) schemes. The AD plant has been acquired by the listed environmental infrastructure fund from venture


capital funds managed by Downing LLP and minority shareholders. Future Biogas will continue to provide management, operations and maintenance services to


the AD plants after the acquisition. Richard Morse, the JLEN chairman, said: "This latest acquisition further underlines the


commitment JLEN has to diversifying its portfolio and the value it places in the anaerobic digestion sector. He concludes: "We are pleased to see our partnership with Future Biogas continues to strengthen across a portfolio of four projects together."


14 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2018 UK POwER NEwS


getting ready to run the iconic Abbey Mills pumping station, once powered by steam, on 100 %renewable energy. Built by Sir Joseph


Bazalgette 150 years ago, the ‘Cathedral of Sewage’ was powered by eight steam operated beam engines, all still inside the architecturally stunning pump house, before


Thames Water is further expanding its use of renewable energy at two operational sites - Abbey Mills pumping station, will be powered by 100% renewable energy from mid-2019, while its Basingstoke sewage works now produces enough energy from waste to power the whole site. The water company is


generated green energy at Beckton using a wind turbine, solar panels and sewage, heated at high temperatures to produce biogas which is the converted into electricity, for many years. Angus Berry, Thames


Water’s energy manager, said: “By powering Abbey Mills with electricity from Beckton’s renewable sources, including the


John Laing Environmental Assets (JLEN) buys North Lincolnshire-based anaerobic digestion (AD) plant for £18.1m


London site to Beckton sewage works via an 8km copper cable – through an existing duct – will now mean all of its power will come from renewable sources, rather than the National Grid. Thames Water has


it was converted to electricity in the 1930s. The project to link the east


be an industry leader in producing electricity from renewable sources. By doing this we’re protecting the environment and reducing costs, which in turn keeps customer bills down.” Abbey Mills pumps around


230,000 litres of waste water a day on to Beckton sewage works and can process four times that on rainy days. Work on the cable project began in early 2018 and is expected to be completed in mid-2019.


between the two sites every day, we’re making it more resilient as it won’t rely on power from the grid. To modify a site built by the Victorians to run on 21st Century green energy is a real achievement for us as we look to create a more sustainable and greener busi- ness.” “We’re extremely proud to


sewage that is pumped


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