LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) announced the energisation of Staughton on Monday - the UK's largest subsidy-free solar plant, with an installed capacity of 50MWp.
The FTSE 250 company said the Staughton solar plant would cover the yearly electricity demand of around 15,000 UK households, and is largely located on a former airfield on the border of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

It said the electricity generated by the plant would be bundled with NESF's existing portfolio of generating plants, and sold under sales contracts already in place.

In selling the electricity generated by Staughton and the rest of its portfolio, the firm said it would benefit from the electricity sales desk provided by its asset manager WiseEnergy.

Staughton is NESF's second subsidy-free solar plant energised during the current financial year, following the completion of Hall Farm II, totalling 5.4MWp and located in Leicestershire, in August.

The company said its overall portfolio of operating solar plants had increased to 755MWp spread among 90 individual solar plants, including three residential rooftop portfolios.

NESF confirmed it had also started preparing the site of its next subsidy-free solar plant, High Garrett, for construction.

High Garrett would be an 8.5MWp extension to a 5MWp ROC asset known as Kentishes, acquired in 2016.

That asset was expected to be completed during the first half of 2020.

"NESF has developed innovative structuring, delivery and operating asset management capabilities to develop and construct subsidy-free plants in the UK that are value-accretive for the company and its investors," the board explained in its statement.

"The company intends to add a total of approximately 150MWp - of which 55.4MWp is now delivered - in UK subsidy-free capacity to its portfolio as it leads the transition of the solar industry from a subsidy-based regime to providing clean electricity on market competitive terms."

At 1035 GMT, shares in NextEnergy Solar Fund were flat at 123.5p.

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