“Not an easy project to build:” Australian developer switches on the biggest solar farm in the UK

Australian-based renewable energy and storage investor Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners says its new 373 MW Cleve Hill Solar Park – the biggest in the UK – has begun commercial operations.

The Cleve Hill solar park, situated in Kent in England’s south, consists of over 550,000 solar panels and is expected to provide clean electricity equivalent to the needs of 102,000 homes, and is being hailed as a landmark on multiple fronts.

It is four times the size of the next largest operational UK solar project, and will also feature a 150 MW co-located battery energy storage system (BESS), making it also the largest co-located solar plus storage project ever constructed in the UK power market.

Cleve Hill was also the first solar and battery storage project to be consented as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) by the UK government, and secured the first solar contract for difference (CfD) by the UK Government-backed Low Carbon Contracts Company.

The project is also supported by the largest solar and battery storage project financing ever closed in the UK, with Quinbrook announcing in March that it had raised £238.5 million (around $A485 million at the time) for the Cleve Hill Solar Park, consisting of a £218.5 million term loan and a £20 million VAT facility with Lloyds and NatWest.

“Cleve Hill sets a new benchmark for large-scale solar projects to help decarbonise the UK power system and demonstrates how investing in the infrastructure needed to transition the UK to clean energy can support local communities and create new jobs,” said Keith Gains, managing director and UK regional leader for Quinbrook.

“Reaching commercial operations is a major technical, construction and financial achievement for our teams, our partners and our investors. Cleve Hill was not an easy project to build and we overcame many challenges along the way.”

Cleve Hill began construction in early 2023 after it was granted development consent in May 2020, dodging efforts by the local council to overturn the government’s consent to block its development.

The local council, Swale Borough Council, was more successful in attempting to block Cleve Hill’s plans to build a 150 MW battery at the site.

However, a planning inspector appointed by the UK’s secretary of state subsequently ruled that the local planning authority’s decision had been unreasonable, overturning the decision and allowing development and construction of the battery move forward.

“The UK’s ongoing commitment to progress its energy transition and decarbonise the economy represents a strong conviction as a nation to a renewable energy future, one that is underpinned by a huge pipeline of large-scale infrastructure projects that will support growth, jobs and cheaper power for UK households,” added Gains.