The British arm of one of the world’s leading solar photovoltaic (PV) solution and service providers has secured a contract for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a 37MWp solar plant on a disused airfield at Kencot Hill near Oxford.
Once connected towards the end of this summer, the 144,000-panel ground-mounted plant on the 129-acre brownfield site is expected to produce enough electricity to power 10,000 homes, with the majority of the power used by local residents, businesses and public sector organisations.
Conenergy was selected by RWE Supply & Trading, the energy trading house of European utility RWE Group for this project, the group’s first venture into British solar farms.
Hedgerows will be reinforced to hide much of the site from public view, and to boost biodiversity and local wildlife.
Kencot Hill is one of a number of projects in Conergy’s robust UK project pipeline for 2014, of which 68MW were completed in the first three months of this year.
Conenergy UK managing director Robert Goss said: “The latest IPCC report highlighted the need for increased investment in low-carbon power, so RWE’s commitment to British solar is very welcome.

“Large-scale plants in the right places, like Kencot Hill, already provide power to tens of thousands of homes, and will avoid millions of tonnes of carbon emissions.”