The Ducklington site is the first Innova and Novus have had approved this year. Image: Pixabay.
Planning permission has been given for Ducklington Solar Farm in Oxfordshire, a site being developed by Innova Renewables and development consultancy Novus Renewable Services.
Located south of Witney, the farm is to deliver an initial 24MWp. It is Innova and Novus’ first solar farm to be given approval in 2022, with the two working together on a portfolio of 8GW of solar and battery storage with secured grid connections.
The companies expect to submit a further 15 solar and battery storage projects into the planning system during the remainder of the year, alongside 4 currently awaiting decision.
Indeed, Ryan Adams, director of Novus said it is “likely to be a busy 2022” for the duo, with each of their projects “seeking to bring clean, lower cost energy onto the grid whilst providing myriad benefits to local communities”.
The Ducklington site is expected to be operational during the second half of 2023, with significant biodiversity improvements expected from the project. There is also to be an enhancement of an existing public footpath that runs through the site, and the chance to give back locally in the form of a community benefit payments.
It follows Innova Energy, a private equity-backed solar energy company which was a subsidiary of Innova Capital, being acquired by Elm Trading earlier this year. As such, Elm Trading took on Innova Energy's 16 ground-mount assets in the UK, which have a total capacity of 61.5MW.