German energy giant to build Norfolk solar park

A German energy giant is to build a 55 megawatt (MWp) solar park near King’s Lynn in Norfolk, which will generate enough power to supply 14,700 British households – while avoiding 11,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

STEAG Solar Energy Solutions GmbH (SENS), the subsidiary of the Essen-based energy company STEAG specialising in PV projects, will build the solar park in Norfolk in the coming months, following a sustainable plan that will also see a kilometer-long hedgerow planted around the site, providing a habitat for local wildlife.

Planning permission for the construction of the plant, on arable agricultural land near King’s Lynn, was recently granted. In addition to the solar system, the project also includes a coupled storage system for the intermediate storage of up to 15 megawatt hours of green energy.

SENS UK, the British subsidiary of SENS, is working on the implementation of the project with the name Solar Light Company Ltd; a provider of solar technology and services based in the UK, among others.

Together, the partners are building the solar park on arable land on which intensive agriculture was previously carried out.

“In this respect, the project not only provides climate-friendly energy, but also gives the soil on which the plant is being built the opportunity for regeneration,” says Christian Kleinhans, who is responsible for the project at SENS.

Almost 12,000 tons of CO2 savings

With a calculated annual yield of 55 gigawatt hours (GWh), the newly created solar park will be able to supply around 14,700 British households with emission-free green electricity in the future. As a result, CO2 emissions of around 11,700 tonnes are permanently avoided every year. The entire system is designed  for a service life of 40 years.

“Thanks to the coupled electricity storage system, solar energy can be temporarily stored in times of weaker demand and made available at a later date, when the demand is correspondingly high or the solar radiation is correspondingly lower,” explains Christian Kleinhans.

In addition to the pure energy yield, will adopt a comprehensive sustainability approach. In cooperation with the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, a management plan for the area is being developed, which will provide additional ecological measures on and around the site. In this way, the PV system will also contribute to increasing local biodiversity.

“Among other things, it is planned to plant a hedgerow about one kilometer long around the solar park, which will provide habitat for a wide variety of animal and plant species,” says XXX. “Flowering strips with wildflowers are also part of the ecological concept for the site.”

Further projects in the UK in prospect

For SENS, the new project in the UK is only the prelude to further activities. Together with project partner Namene Solar, the aim is to bring a further 200 megawatts of solar energy to the grid in the United Kingdom over the next two years.

SENS has been active in the British market for many years and has already implemented a number of larger projects as an O&M service provider. In this respect, the Würzburg-based solar specialist aims to make a significant contribution to achieving British climate targets: The British government is aiming for a 78 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2035 compared to the level of the 1990s. This goal can only be achieved with a further significant expansion of solar energy; a task that, according to opinion polls, finds the approval of around 80 percent of Britons.