Construction has been completed at three solar farms in Southwest England owned by investors in the first Ingenious Renewable Energy EIS Fund.
The Ingenious Renewable Energy EIS Fund raised GBP31m in 2013.
Around 85 per cent of the fund has been deployed so far, with close to half of the funds invested into the development and construction of these three solar farms, which will start to generate a total of 21 MWhp additional electricity per year.
The Ingenious Clean Energy team, which established and manages the EIS Fund, has been managing the construction of the assets alongside British Solar Renewables, the renewable energy developer and operator.
The three solar farms are based in Devon, Hampshire and Dorset, all counties that have had to contend with the recent gales, floods, power outages and other grid issues to have been experienced across the Southwest.
Stonebarrow Farm Solar Park is the largest of the solar farms and is the first to have been connected to the electricity network. Stonebarrow, a 7.49 MWhp solar farm located just outside of Axminster, Devon was connected on 31 January 2014. Western Power Distribution was instrumental in enabling the project to be connected amid storm-related power cuts and other challenges.
Westover Farm Solar Park (Hampshire) and Redbridge Road Solar Park (Dorset), with respective capacities of 7.04MWhp and a 6.48MWhp experienced some delays with connection due to the storms and flooding. However, construction is now complete and Ingenious Clean Energy expects that both of these solar farms will be able to be connected to the network by the end of February. All farms should be commissioned and in operation well ahead of the changes in ROCs due to take place at the end of March 2014.
The news follows the recent announcement that Ingenious Clean Energy intends to raise a close-end listed fund, Ingenious Clean Energy Income plc, which will invest up to GBP200m in a diversified portfolio of solar, onshore wind and energy efficiency assets.
Sebastian Speight, managing director of Ingenious Clean Energy, says: “We are delighted that the farms were completed on time and in budget. It is a testament to the professionalism and commitment of the developers and contractors involved in the construction of these solar farms that they have been able to complete their to work undeterred by some of the worst weather conditions we have seen in decades.”