Modelled on similar, hugely successful, community based renewable energy schemes in Denmark, Wychwood Solar Farm is the brainchild of New Energy Era and its director, Sam Simson. Designed to create a low carbon community and provide energy security for local residents, the solar farm can generate approximately 700,000 kWh annually, which is the daytime energy equivalent of 200 homes. It was the first of its kind within West Oxfordshire and, at the time of construction, the largest off-grid system in the UK.
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To make the project viable, New Energy Era needed to secure the premium Feed in Tariff (FiT) rate before the rapidly approaching reduction deadline and commissioned Power On Connections to install the electrical infrastructure, which comprised an export HV metered Ring Main Unit onto the host DNO network. This work involved specialist equipment, including meter units, and a bespoke design solution that would allow the power generated by the solar farm to be directed back onto the network.
"Wychwood Solar Farm was a significant project in our business' development as it served as an excellent example of how our knowledge is transferable into a new sector," explains Manj Thind, commercial manager at Power On Connections. "By broadening our expertise into the renewables market we can not only offer a service that perfectly complements our existing client portfolio but also make a tangible contribution to sustainable energy, a key target in our CSR policy."
Sam Simson, director, New Energy Era added: "In the limited time window available, the ground-breaking Wychwood Solar Farm would not have been achieved without Power On's expertise."
