UK: EDF Renewables is about to start work to build a solar farm at Bloy’s Grove near Swainsthorpe in Norfolk which will meet about 15% of Network Rail’s non-traction electricity needs.
Construction follows a 2022 corporate purchase power agreement between the infrastructure manager and EDF Renewables. The 14-year deal covers the supply of 64 GWh of clean energy for offices, depots and managed stations at a fixed annual cost.
A further CoPPA is planned to enable all of Network Rail’s non-traction electrical requirements to be met from solar power.
‘This contract, the first of its kind for the railway, shows how organisations like Network Rail can use their buying power to drive investment in clean power generation for the country’, said Network Rail’s Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Westlake on May 30.
