Construction has begun at the 42 MWp Derril Water Solar Park in Devon. Ethical Power was awarded the full-wrap Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract by Ripple Energy, and will also carry out Operations and Maintenance (O&M) on the site once it is energised.
Derril Water Solar Park in Devon is unique in that it is funded and owned by nearly 10,000 members of the public from across Britain, who have come together in a cooperative society and raised more than £20 million to finance the project in 2023 – the biggest single cooperative share raise in UK history.
Once operational, the site is expected to generate enough electricity to power around 14,000 homes for up to 40 years.
Less than 4% of the agricultural land will be physically occupied by the infrastructure, leaving the remaining 96% available for sheep grazing. Biodiversity Net Gain plans commit to a 90% increase, and include the creation of bee banks, wildflower meadows, and new hedgerows – all projected to increase habitats by an impressive 90%.
Rachel Ruffle, Ethical Power COO, added:
“We’re thrilled to break ground on this pioneering solar farm that will help us reach Net Zero while making substantial contributions to biodiversity net gain. The Derril Water project is innovative in both how it has been funded and how it is being built. It is through partnerships like this that Ethical Power can help deliver the most sustainable energy infrastructure solutions.”
With the solar panels now on site and ready to be installed, the site is expected to be complete and begin generating power in late 2024 or early 2025.
Future of sustainable energy
Derril Water Solar Park is the third project from cooperative energy pioneers, Ripple Energy. The company was founded in 2017 and makes renewables accessible to everyone, everywhere by securing wind farms and solar parks from developers and opening them up for cooperative ownership. It means people are able to power their homes with clean energy without the need for solar panels on their roofs, enabling renters and those in flats to benefit too.
Sarah Merrick, Ripple Energy Founder and CEO, said:
“This solar park revolutionises the way members of the public engage with and benefit from solar energy. For the first time in the UK, we’re seeing a large-scale solar park where people can both own a piece of the infrastructure and directly benefit from the clean energy it produces. This model of shared ownership and power is the future of sustainable energy.”
For more information, please visit Ripple’s website – www.rippleenergy.com