Innova Renewables has announced the successful activation of its latest solar project, a 27.8 MWp development in Warwickshire.
The Elms Farm Solar Park was acquired in May this year by ISG Renewables, a joint venture between Innova and investment company Schroders Greencoat, after planning permission had already been granted in 2022 and construction had started in 2023. In October, ISG Renewables announced that a 15-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) had been signed for the Elms Farm solar project, with Anglian Water agreeing to purchase 100% of the energy generated by the power station . solar PV power plant.
This is the third successful ratification Innova has celebrated in 2024, with Dorset’s 28.5 MWp Stokeford Solar Park powered in July and Lincolnshire’s 22.6 MWp Bicker Fen solar PV plant commissioned in March taken.
Gordon Pope, director of project delivery at Innova, said: “We are delighted to announce the activation of our fourth solar DNO [distribution network operator] -level project. However, after three previous successful energizations, this one has a different effect. Elms Farm is the model of how Innova plans to deliver our DNO solar pipeline in the future.”
Elms Farm is the third solar project that the ISG Renewables joint venture has acquired, following the acquisition of the 10MWp Carn Nicholas Solar Park in April 2023 and the Bicker Fen Solar Park in March 2024. Both projects are also operational.
Innovation on the rise
Innova has also scored some important planning victories this year. In September, Innova announced it had been granted planning permission by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to expand the Blythe Solar Farm solar-plus-storage development. The recently approved plans will expand the site’s solar energy generation capacity by 16.6 MW to 44.3 MWp, with plans for the 30 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) remaining unchanged. The project is expected to come online in 2027. The same announcement revealed that planning permission had also been granted for a project in Taunton, the 22MW Ham Farm Solar Park.
At the end of October, Innova received planning permission from Cotswold District Council for the 13 MWp Welsh Way Solar Farm. Although a start date for construction on this project has not yet been announced, Innova expects the development to be operational in 2026.
Innova currently has more than 60 DNO and grid-connected projects under development in the UK, with a total solar and storage capacity of approximately 24 GW.
