Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a worldwide investment firm that focuses on energy transition infrastructure, has announced that work on the Cleve Hill Solar Park in Kent, UK, is finished and commercial operations have begun. The project is currently producing 373 megawatts (MW) of direct current (dc) power, which is its maximum potential. This makes it the biggest solar project in the UK, more than four times the size of the next largest solar installation in the nation. In May, while it was being tested, Cleve Hill’s production reached a level that was equivalent to 0.7 percent of the UK’s total power consumption.
Cleve Hill Solar Park was the first solar and battery storage project in the UK to be approved as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). The biggest solar and battery storage finance deal ever done in the nation also backs it. Quinbrook had already said that they had completed a financing package with Lloyds Bank and NatWest that comprised a £218.5 million term loan and a £20 million VAT credit. A 150 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) is being built next to the solar park right now. When it’s done, this will be the biggest solar and battery storage project ever constructed in the UK.
Keith Gains, Managing Director and UK Regional Leader for Quinbrook, stated, “Cleve Hill Solar Park sets a new benchmark for large-scale solar projects to help decarbonise the UK power system and demonstrates how investing in the infrastructure needed to transition the UK to clean energy can support local communities and create new jobs.. Reaching commercial operations is a major technical, construction and financial achievement for our teams, our partners and our investors. Cleve Hill was not an easy project to build and we overcame many challenges along the way. The UK’s ongoing commitment to progress its energy transition and decarbonise the economy represents a strong conviction as a nation to a renewable energy future, one that is underpinned by a huge pipeline of large-scale infrastructure projects that will support growth, jobs and cheaper power for UK households.”
Rory Quinlan, Quinbrook’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner, mentioned, “Quinbrook is proud to further enhance our track record of successfully delivering milestone infrastructure projects that create such a meaningful and positive impact for the UK’s energy transition. Projects like Cleve Hill Solar Park set new scale benchmarks that should increase confidence that the UK’s renewables targets can be achieved.”
In May 2020, the project got permission to go forward, and building started in early 2023. Quinbrook collaborated with its development partner, Private Energy Partners, to finish the project. The UK’s Low Carbon Contracts Company also gave Cleve Hill a Contract for Difference (CfD), making it the first solar NSIP to do so. In the fourth round of the government’s auction program, it got the most money for a solar project.
Quinbrook negotiated a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tesco PLC to help ensure long-term stability. This was the biggest solar corporate PPA ever signed in the UK. Cleve Hill is likely to have big positive effects on the economy and the environment. Its goal is to cut carbon emissions by more than 142,000 tonnes in its first year of operation. The project is expected to create more than 2,500 direct and indirect employment and provide more than £114 million in social and economic value to the local community during its lifespan.
