UK’s largest community-owned solar park to come online next year
The Ray Valley Solar project in Oxford is expected to come online next autumn, after Triodos Bank confirmed lending for what is expected to be the UK’s largest community-owned solar park.
Low Carbon Hub believes that surplus energy produced from Ray Valley Solar will create more than £10m of community benefit funding
Ray Valley Solar will be located near Arncott in the northeast of Oxford. The project will have a total installed capacity of 19.2MWp once complete and will aim to generate enough electricity to power over 6,000 homes annually.
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Ray Valley Solar will be a subsidy-free, community-owned solar park near Arncott, north east of Oxford, UK. The project will have a total installed capacity of 19.2 MWp and aims to generate enough electricity to power over 6000 homes annually through its ground-mounted panels.
Triodos Bank UK has approved a new loan facility, allowing the project to be constructed this year. Further lending will also be made available for its operation, with the park expected to begin generating in autumn 2021.
The park is owned by Low Carbon Hub, a social enterprise that aims to support and encourage local communities to take control of their energy. This new project will result in a five-fold increase in the amount of green electricity that Low Carbon Hub is able to generate annually.
A LEADING energy company has been appointed to help reach net zero carbon at a new garden village in Oxfordshire. The county council has appointed Urbanomy, a new spin-off of EDF, to advise on energy decisions at the Salt Cross garden village near Eynsham. The garden village will see 2,200 homes, a primary school with a 1,000 pupil capacity, a health centre and a science park built. Urbanomy will support Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) and build on the Energy Action Plan (EAP) of the area. It will also assess the energy supply and demand at the garden village, and its impact on the local grid.