Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE), a UK-headquartered international developer of utility scale solar and battery storage projects, has submitted into planning another co-located clean energy project totalling 27MW of additional generation capacity.
The proposed ground-mounted scheme, known as Apple Tree Solar, is located near Wissett in Suffolk. This project would generate enough power for over 11,500 homes annually and displace the equivalent CO2 emissions of around 1,700 petrol cars, thereby making an important contribution to the UK’s climate goals.
This brings the Pathfinder Clean Energy UK solar pipeline either fully permitted or submitted into planning to over 270MWp with an additional ability to import over 70MW to battery energy storage, to provide improved grid support and flexibility as the UK works to bring forth an increasingly dynamic and clean electricity system.
The company now has more than 1GW of solar capacity in the UK in various stages of the development process and is also entering construction on its first 100 MW of projects in Canada with a follow-on pipeline to connect from 2023 onwards.
Rob Denman, Managing Director of Pathfinder Clean Energy said: “PACE is delighted to have reached the planning submission stage on this project that continues to grow our pipeline of UK and international projects.
“Apple Tree Solar is another PACE project we are delighted to submit into planning. Alongside it’s benefits to the national energy outlook it will also deliver significant biodiversity benefits to the local area.
“With the high temperatures through the summer in the UK and across Europe showing the impact of climate change and the need for clean energy and increasing energy prices confirming the need for improved energy security, this project and others like it will become the backbone of the UK’s ability to manage both risks. These projects also provide long term stable incomes for our land owner partners that will also help them manage their own finances as they also have to adapt their own operations to the changing climate and the uncertainty this brings to agricultural yields.”