Solar energy developer and construction company Eden Sustainable has secured £75 million from Thrive Renewables for a solar accelerator facility fund.
The agreement will see Eden accelerate the rollout of private solar purchase agreements (PPAs) for schools, businesses and other organizations across the UK. National Grid recently allocated £2.3 million to support the Solar for Schools initiative.
The companies said the facility has been provided with 15 schools through PPAs, which are estimated to save 8,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and a total of £3 million.
Crucially, the deal now means that Eden can develop, build, finance and operate solar energy in-house. However, companies can now also finance and own solar projects themselves, with Eden doing the development and construction.
Matthew Clayton, Managing Director of Thrive Renewables, said: “We believe funding partnerships like this can help catalyze the industry and accelerate the delivery of vital new renewable energy capacity at the pace and scale needed for net zero . We are delighted to be working with Eden, a company that is closely aligned with our ethos and values, and helping to finance the expansion plans that will see up to 75 MW of new rooftop solar installed.
“This also supports our own ambitious growth targets, with the aim of doubling Thrive’s generation capacity within the next five years. The clean energy system of the future will have to rely on different technologies working together, with private cable projects allowing more renewable energy sources to be deployed at a time when access to the electricity grid is a real bottleneck.”
In other news, Eden has recently completed a 2.5 MW array for global logistics provider Uniserv, located on the roof of the 70,000 square meter Felixstowe Mega Distribution Center (FMDC). The array is predicted to generate more than 2,180,000 kWh of clean energy per year, 86% of which will be consumed on-site.
It is worth noting that in 2019 Eden and AMP Clean Energy launched plans to develop and finance a number of post-subsidy solar projects. The pipeline grew to an installed capacity of approximately 30 MW.
Solar Power Portal’s publisher Solar Media will host the UK Solar Summit on 4-5 June 2024 in London. The event will explore Britain’s new utility and rooftop solar landscape, look at the opportunities within a GW+ annual market, and much more. For more information, visit the website.
