Centrica has opened its first UK solar farm, with power generation underway at the Wiltshire site.
Construction on Codford Solar Farm began in April 2022, after the consent was secured by Centrica Business Solutions in 2021.
Made up of 33,000 panels, the project has a total capacity of 18MW and should produce 19GWh of green electricity every year, enough to power some 4,850 homes.
Vodafone will purchase half of the electricity output from the solar farm, helping to support its development and bringing additional renewable power provision to the UK Grid.
The long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) will see approximately 9GWh of green electricity dedicated to Vodafone UK, with the remainder sold into the national grid through Centrica’s Energy Marketing and Trading business.
Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Windsor-based Centrica, said: “Centrica is a uniquely integrated energy company well positioned to both drive, and benefit from, the energy transition. I’m delighted that we’re now back building assets, focussing on clean electricity generation and storage.
“That integration stretches from the construction of new generating assets such as Codford to the movement of power across Europe and we’ve rapidly built a reputation as a leading player in European energy markets, supporting grid operators with sourcing the power they need to maintain a secure supply and supporting organisations such as Vodafone to help reach its Net Zero ambitions.”
Andrea Dona, chief network officer and chair of Vodafone’s Net Zero Steerco, added: “Achieving Net Zero for our UK operations by 2027 is a critical part of our company strategy, and making our network as energy efficient as possible, and powering it sustainably, play a key role.
“Thanks to power purchase agreements like this one, a significant proportion of our energy requirement will be generated in the UK by 2025. Such agreements also bring additional renewable power to the UK grid, and so are good for the country too.”