Completion of the 37.3 MWdc Parley solar park in the UK and sale to the Foresight Group

Adiant Capital Partners, a Swiss investment advisory firm focusing on renewable infrastructure, completed a 37.3 MWdc UK solar park and completed its sale to the Foresight Group.

Parley solar park, Dorset, UK

Adiant Capital Partners (“Adiant”), an investment firm specializing in energy infrastructure, today announced the completion, on 30 December 2014, of the sale of the Parley solar park to the Foresight Group by Adiant Solar Opportunities I, the first investment vehicle solely dedicated to financing the construction phase of solar assets globally. To date, Adiant Solar Opportunities I has achieved five exits and delivered a global IRR in excess of 40% since starting investing early 2013.

The construction of the Parley solar park was funded by equity invested by Adiant Solar Opportunities I alongside a construction financing facility provided by Deutsche Bank AG. The financing marks the largest single solar project financing in the United Kingdom and the fifth largest renewable energy financing in 2014, according to Clean Energy Pipeline.

The Parley solar park, located in the vicinity of the Bournemouth airport, totals 37.3 MWdc and is the second largest utility-scale solar park ever built in the United Kingdom; it is co-located with a 24.2 MWdc solar park owned by The Renewable Investment Group (part of InfraRed Capital Partners). The two solar parks, which share a joint connection infrastructure, constitute the largest photovoltaic cluster in the United Kingdom with a combined capacity of 61.5 MWdc.  

Adiant awarded the EPC contract for the construction and engineering of Parley to Goldbeck Solar GmbH and selected REC Solar and SMA as module and inverters suppliers, respectively. Construction started in June 2014 and the site commenced exporting electricity to the Scottish & Southern Energy network in September 2014 with G59 testing on 23 September 2014 and awarding of the provisional acceptance certificate on 22 October 2014. The project was accredited by OFGEM to receive 1.6 ROCs/MWh in November 2014.

The Parley solar park will generate on average 40GWh of electricity per annum, which equates to the consumption of 12,250 UK households, and avoid the emission of 1.2 million tons of CO2. Over its 30-year lifetime, the Parley solar park is forecast to generate power at a levelized cost of electricity of GBP 82/MWh.

Due to the size of the solar park, totaling 150,000 solar panels installed over 8 fields covering around 220 acres (89 hectares), particular attention has been given to visual impact mitigation as well as environmental impact and land use mitigation.  

Adiant has been advised by global law firm Jones Day in all legal aspects of the transaction and Evergy Engineering GmbH has advised Adiant on all technical aspects of the project.