Vattenfall plans 5-MW solar project in southwestern Wales

Swedish energy group Vattenfall plans to develop a solar photovoltaic system with capacity up to 5 megawatts peak close to its Parc Cynog wind farm at Carmarthenshire in southwestern Wales.

Vattenfall will be submitting proposal for the project to the Carmarthenshire County Council toward the end of September,

The site will continue to be grazing land for sheep even after the solar plant becomes operational. The solar park is expected to produce adequate power annually to meet the needs of 1,441 local households, a statement from the company said.

Vattenfall’s Parc Cynog wind farm has been generating power since 2001. The 11-turbine facility had started operations with five turbines project. It underwent expansion in 2009 and now has peak capacity of 8.4 MW.

Last month, Vattenfall had announced divestment of its Nordjylland combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The district heating company Aalborg Forsyning is to take over the power station by December 31.

The company has been selling fossil assets as part of its strategy to focus on a sustainable energy production.

The value of the project was an estimated 823 million Danish Krone ($123.274 million). And the combined sales sum is 725 million Danish Krone ($108.704 million) comprising cash consideration, takeover of decommissioning obligations and environmental liabilities, a statement said.

The coal-fired Nordjylland Power Station unit 3 has an installed capacity of 410 megawatts peak and 490 MJ/s of heating.

Ajith Kumar S

[email protected]