Martifer Solar, a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, has connected a 7.3 MW solar PV plant located in Sittingbourne, Kent, to the grid in the UK. The project was successfully connected ahead of the 1.3 Renewable Obligations Certificate (ROC) deadline.
The PV plant was fully developed and built by Martifer Solar and the company will be responsible for the subsequent operation and maintenance (O&M) service. The construction of the 7.3 MW project was completed within 8 weeks, which is aligned with the company's track record and time-to-power capabilities. Following the company's business model, the PV plant will be sold to a third party investor.
Henrique Rodrigues, CEO of Martifer Solar, said, "The completion of this PV plant is a milestone for us in the UK market, as it represents the shift into a post-ROC era for our company going forward. We continue to view the UK as a viable market for solar energy, regardless of the government's support, and are tailoring our future business model to continue developing and implementing projects within the country. In addition to this, we continue to grow our business activities throughout Europe and look forward to more achievements during these coming years."
Martifer Solar completed the PV plant on an area of approximately 121,406 m2, using 27,874 modules installed on fixed structures. The 7.3 MW plant is expected to produce an estimated 7,326 MWh/year. With this production capacity, the plant will offset 630 tons of carbon dioxide on an annual basis, which is sufficient energy to power more than 500 inhabitants in the county of Kent. At this time with an impending energy supply crisis in the UK, the additional capacity being connected to the grid will help to diversify the country's energy mix.
Francisco Queirós, Director of Development for Europe from Martifer Solar, said, "Although the adverse changes in government support have been challenging for the industry, we continue to believe in the UK market and the country's potential for solar energy. We have experienced this downturn in several other maturing markets across Europe in these past years and continue to move our business forward in these countries to this day, independent of support from feed-in-tariff or ROC schemes. Our team in the UK continues developing a pipeline of about 200 MW to target PPA projects and future business models including grid-scale storage."