UK’s first combined solar and wind park launches

Green energy supplier, Ecotricity, have completed the construction of the UK’s first major solar park which is the first project in the UK to capture the power of both the […]

Green energy supplier, Ecotricity, have completed the construction of the UK’s first major solar park which is the first project in the UK to capture the power of both the sun and the wind in one location.

The 1MW solar park will generate enough electricity for 300 homes for the next 25 years. The PV joins an existing 16MW of wind power on the site which has been running since 2008. However, since the Feed in Tariff review, Ecotricity say that parks like these won’t be built anymore.

Dale Vince, Founder of Ecotricity said: “If this is the greenest Government ever, why are they strangling our solar industry at birth? Indigenous sources of energy will save British taxpayers enormous sums of money in the coming decades – just last week energy prices rose by 10%, that’s £50 per year per household – contrast that with the measly £5 per year this government are willing to see spent on building our own energy sources. If anything defines a False Economy it’s this.”

Ecotricity say they had plans for several more large-scale sun parks across the UK, which could have been up and running in 2011. The plans have now been ditched, they say as a result of the Coalition Government’s decision to pull the plug on large solar subsidies.

Dale Vince said the Government’s decision to review the FiTs was disastrous: “Many countries in Europe have successful large scale solar industries, and the economic benefits that flow from that – all made possible through proper Feed in Tariff support. It’s not just about green jobs and green industry, we need large scale solar as part of the UK’s energy mix, to make the UK more energy independent and reduce our carbon if this government is serious about being the greenest ever.”

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