Labour led Exeter City Council has brought Exeter’s solar farm and battery storage facility online. It is now powering the city’s electric fleet of vehicles, recycling centre and offices with green energy.
The first of its kind in the region the initiative delivers another move towards Labours ambition to ensure the Council becoming Net Zero Carbon by 2030.
The Solar Farm has 3,700 solar panels which creates 1.2MW of clean, renewable energy. The substantial battery facility is capable of storing 2MW and provides flexibility between peak generation and peak usage.
The £3.5M project is 45% funded by the European Regional Development Fund. It is estimate that it will generate savings of £256,000 per annum. The facility is built on an inactive landfill site and is now feeding power directly to the Council’s nearby Materials Reclamation Facility.
As part of the project battery storage is also added to existing Council solar arrays at the Matford Centre and John Lewis Car Park, and a new 120kW solar PV array and battery store has been added to the Riverside Leisure Centre.