The advent of unsubsidised solar in the UK is accelerating and Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF), one of the top five asset holders in the UK, now expects its previous patience in the field to pay off. Earlier this week BSIF reported its results for the six-month period ending 31 December 2018, revealing that its underlying earnings for the period had surged by 38% year-on-year to £18 million. This performance, chairman John Rennocks said, “had its foundations” in the fund’s carefully selected and procured portfolio, which was largely amassed before 2016.
Solar Power Portal 28th Feb 2019 read more »
GRIDSERVE has unveiled that it is to start construction on a 37.4MW solar farm and 27MW battery storage project imminently, in what is being billed as the UK’s most technologically advanced solar farm to date. As well as being built without subsidies, the solar farm will be the first in the UK to use bifacial modules and single-axis trackers, indicating two potentially significant trends for the utility-scale market moving forward. Once complete, the site will be purchased by and supply 100% of the energy demand of Warrington Borough Council, in yet another significant milestone for the UK solar sector. In addition, a second, 25.7MW solar farm is to be constructed soon after, taking GRIDSERVE’s solar build-out for this year to 62MW. GRIDSERVE reached financial close on the projects last week with Investec Bank and Leapfrog Finance agreeing to fund the construction of the two solar farms.
Solar Power Portal 28th Feb 2019 read more »
