The Rhonda Cynon Taf local council has granted planning permission to Windel Energy and Recurrent Energy for their proposed 9.9MW solar farm, which will be connected to the Talbot Green substation at Ynysmaerdy, Wales.
Windel first announced the approval in early July, but in an update issued at the end of August, noted that this was one of three planning permissions to be granted to it so far this year.
It comes on top of planning consent being granted in May by Cumberland Council for the Harker 200-MW/400-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Carlisle. And in July, a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the 350MWp Mallard Pass solar farm in Lincolnshire and Rutland was granted to Windel by UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband.
Both the Harker and Mallard Pass projects are also joint developments with Recurrent, which is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar. Windel and Recurrent are working together across the UK under a development services agreement.
The latest update was issued after all the relevant approvals were in hand.
The Talbot Green solar farm is expected to take six months to be constructed and is due to be connected in 2025. The site spans 47.2 acres (19.1 hectares) across several agricultural fields, where photovoltaic (PV) panels will be installed in a south-facing alignment. The detailed design of the connection is being agreed with the distribution network operator (DNO), the companies said.
They noted that biodiversity enhancements were “at the fore” of the project. These include the creation of an ecological corridor that will be formally managed over the project’s lifespan and the planting of new, native species-rich hedgerow in an effort to boost habitats.
Northumberland-headquartered Windel currently has more than 1.5 GW of solar power, 3 GW of battery energy storage and 150 MW of onshore wind at various stages of development. Recurrent, meanwhile, has completed 9 GW of operating solar projects and 3 GWh of energy storage projects across six continents to date.
In May, Recurrent announced that it had secured a multi-currency revolving credit facility valued at up to €1.3billlion (£1.1b) with 10 banks for the construction of renewable energy projects across six European countries. The facility will initially support the near-term construction of close to 1 GW of solar capacity, with the majority allocated to Spain and the remainder to the UK.
Recommended for you
