French renewable energy company Voltalia has started commercial operations on the 45MW Clifton solar project in Dorset, near Yeovil.
The successful commissioning of the project brings Voltalia’s operational portfolio in the UK to 134 MW of solar and storage capacity. The company has another 79 MW pipeline under development and has worked with “external customers” to develop 195 MW of additional solar capacity across 23 projects.
“We are very proud to have commissioned the Clifton Solar power plant,” said Robert Klein, CEO of Voltalia. “This project reflects our commitment to the UK market and our contribution to the national Clean Power target of 95% low-carbon electricity generation by 2030.”
Voltalia first received approval for the Clifton project in 2022, when it was awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD) as part of the fourth allocation round (AR4) completed by the government. As part of this round, Voltalia also received a CfD for the 45MW Higher Stockbridge solar project in Sherbourne, which is currently under construction. Voltalia said it expects to begin commercial operations on the Higher Stockbridge project by the end of this year.
The CfD scheme has been a cornerstone of the UK’s energy transition, allowing companies to tender for fixed-term contracts for renewable energy projects. The sixth allocation round – the most recent to be completed – saw a record 3.2 GW of solar capacity allocated, while AR7, which closed applications in August, broke new ground for this practice by offering administrative strike prices for each renewable energy technology in 2024 prices, rather than 2012 prices as was the case in previous rounds.
In the seventh round, a solar strike price of £75/MWh was setsignificantly lower than the prices offered for the onshore and offshore wind energy sector.
