Energy investment firm Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has secured a Contract for Difference (CfD) for its 350MW Project Fortress solar and battery storage project in Kent.
The CfD aims to support the deployment of low-carbon power generation by incentivising investment in renewable projects, as well as reduce capital costs for developers by providing high upfront costs.
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It was secured under the fourth round of the UK Government’s flagship renewable energy auction.
The 15-year contract will allow Quinbrook to proceed with building Project Fortress, which is expected to be the largest single-site solar photovoltaic park in the UK once operational.
Quinbrook said in a statement: “Project Fortress was the largest solar PV project to secure a CfD in Round Four, which enabled a record amount of renewable energy to be secured through the biggest ever round of the UK government’s flagship auction scheme.”
The firm plans to start the solar project’s construction by the end of this year.
Project Fortress is expected to generate enough clean power to meet the power needs of around 100,000 UK homes a year.
In its first operational year, the project is also expected to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 164,450t.
Quinbrook co-founder and managing partner Rory Quinlan said: “The acute power price volatility and security of energy supply concerns we have seen in the UK these past twelve months highlight how critical new capacity investment in the UK will be to deliver the energy transition without further disruption.
“We plan for Project Fortress to play a material part in helping to improve energy independence for the UK.”
Under the CfD auction, which was completed last week, the UK Government awarded support to 93 renewable energy projects across the country.
These projects have a combined generation capacity of almost 11GW.
Earlier this year, Quinbrook secured exclusive development rights from Simec Atlantis Energy to build Project Uskmouth, a battery energy storage system in Wales.
