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A Manchester-based lawyer at boutique commercial law firm Heatons LLP has this week completed a deal for the procurement of what is believed to be one of the first large scale solar parks in the UK.

Construction partner James Flynn, who specialises in the renewable energy sector, advised client SOLON SE, one of the largest manufacturers of solar modules in Europe, on the agreement with Rockspring Property Investment Managers. Rockspring owns the site of the plant, part of an old RAF airfield at Westcott Venture Park in Buckinghamshire.

SOLON will be responsible for the design, construction operation and maintenance of the plant, as well as the manufacture and delivery of the solar modules themselves.  Construction work on the site has already begun and is due to complete in June this year. The park is expected to deliver a peak power output of around 408 kilowatts.

James said:

“This deal represents one of the few large-scale solar projects to go ahead in the UK following the Government’s publication of its plans to reduce the Feed In Tariff for large scale solar plants.  It is fantastic that the parties involved have managed to continue with this project.  We hope this will encourage others within the industry to follow suit, and that the project can be used as an example with which to encourage Government to change its attitude to large scale solar projects.

“At a time when many larger solar projects have been scrapped, this deal sends out the clear message that large European solar specialists like SOLON remain dedicated to helping UK businesses develop renewable energy projects.”

James added that Heatons continues to build on its service offering to the renewable energy sector:

“As a firm, Heatons has consistently demonstrated its commitment to the renewable energy industry.  We are now at the cutting edge of this sector, having also advised on the country’s first project funded AD (anaerobic digestion) plant, and we hope to continue to use our experience to help get these projects financed and built,” he said.

http://www.heatons.co.uk/

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Recent changes announced to the feed-in tariff were designed to encourage investment in smaller scale, household solar panel projects away from larger scale solar farms which were hoping to tap into the tariff mechanism on an industrial level. While commendable in theory, the reality is that householders and small scale investors simply can’t afford the steep upfront costs in installing solar equipment. While it is of course possible to generate long term revenue from solar projects by tapping into the solar feed-in tariff, photovoltaic solar installation can cost as much as £15,000, capital which most would find hard to raise. This is where critics believe that banks in refusing to lend to small businesses are crippling the solar industry in its infancy.

Already in the UK there have been over 31,000 solar installations amounting to 86MW with 81MW of these being domestic, roof mounted projects. For this reason, you would imagine that the solar industry in the UK has already shown potential lenders that there are returns to be made through investing in photovoltaic equipment especially when twinned with a government protected tariff mechanism like the one introduced last April. Lee Summers of Alumet Renewable Technology stated that,

“It would not be difficult for Government to instruct the state-subsidized banks to recognise its own feed-in-tariff scheme as suitable collateral.”

However, despite the clear evidence from abroad that there are indeed healthy yields to be taken from solar pv, the reluctance of the banks to lend is prohibiting a huge number of people to install solar panels. Summers went onto add that,

“For most homeowners they are unable to benefit from the 8 to 10% that the FiT guarantees to domestic generators because they don’t have the £12,000 or £15,000 they need to install the photovoltaic panels in the first place. Banks do not regard the Government’s 25 year index-linked, commitment as collateral for a loan. It is totally unfair that only the most ‘well-off’ individuals in a community can benefit from solar technology. The feed-in-tariffs are paid for by levies on every energy bill and so every home owner should have the opportunity to access the FiT.”

Tags: Lee Summers, roof mounted solar panels, Solar Feed In Tariff, solar industry, solar investment, solar panels, solar PV, UK feed-in-tariff