British solar developer Aura Power has secured project financing for its Preston Hill Solar Farm in Staffordshire, advancing its pipeline to build and operate 600 MWp of solar energy in Britain.
The financing package includes senior debt from Rabobank, bringing the number of Aura Power projects with guaranteed construction financing to six.
Construction is expected to begin later this year. Once commissioned, the project is expected to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 14,000 UK homes annually. Burges Salmon’s Banking and Finance team acted as legal advisor for the financing.
“Achieving our sixth funded project is a significant achievement and reflects the hard work of our team and partners across the portfolio. As Britain continues to deal with energy security concerns and increasing volatility in international gas markets, the need for new domestic renewable energy infrastructure has never been clearer,” said Simon Coulson, CEO of Aura Power.
In addition to electricity generation, the project includes ecological improvement measures and landscaping works. Aura Power said the site is designed to achieve a net biodiversity gain of almost 100% compared to baseline conditions.
The developer has 360MWp under construction and recently powered its first UK project, Kemble solar farm, in Gloucestershire, marking the company’s transition from a developer to an independent power producer (IPP).
The The Kemble Solar project received a construction permit in 2022 and was awarded a contract in the UK’s fifth Contracts for Difference (CfD) award round (AR5) in 2023. Aura also secured a £44 million debt facility from Rabobank for last year’s project.
In addition, the developer has secured contracts for 152 MW of solar capacity across three projects in the latest CfD auction round, AR7.
In addition to the Preston Hill and Kemble solar projects, Aura also secured funding for its 49.9MW solar project in East Devon in December 2025, marking the developer’s fifth project financing.
