The PPA signed with the City of London Corporation for the South Farm site was hailed as a UK first by the companies.
Voltalia has begun construction of its 49.9MW South Farm solar plant near Spetisbury, Dorset.
In November 2020, the international renewable energy company signed a £40 million power purchase agreement (PPA) with the City of London Corporation for the site.
When completed, the site will provide electricity for the Square Mile for 15 years, helping to power buildings like Guildhall and the Barbican Arts Centre. South Farm will provide over half of the City Corporation’s electricity needs.
“We are very proud to support the City of London Corporation in its 2040 net carbon zero target,” said Sébastien Clerc, Voltalia’s CEO.
“Our fully integrated profile enables us to provide the City of London with our expertise over the entire life cycle of the power plant from construction to power production. We look forward to supplying clean electricity to the historic Square Mile and the financial and commercial heart of the UK.”
Voltalia gained planning permission for the site in January 2020, and with construction now underway it is expected to be commissioned in 2022. The company is using contractors from the South West for the grid connection, the fencing and compound construction, and will use local suppliers for the project wherever else it can.
In June, the company also secured a ten year PPA with risk management company Axpo for its 7.2MW Tonge solar park in Kent.
As well as its solar developments, Voltalia is also working on utility-scale storage in the UK, and announced the beginning of construction of its 32MW/32MWh Hallen battery system in April.