Shropshire solar park sold in £11.7 million deal
A giant solar farm with the potential to power 3,000 homes in Shropshire has been sold in an £11.7 million deal – before it has been completed.
The hotly-contested solar park, with 35,800 panels, will cover almost 61 acres on a farm on the outskirts of Condover.
It is due to begin supplying power in the spring, and has now been acquired by Channel Islands-based investment firm NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd.
NextEnergy, which is based in Guernsey, is an investment fund focused on operational solar energy assets in the UK.
The deal for the Green Farm Lane site at Condover follows the company's initial public offering on the stock market, which raised £85.6 million, while a separate credit agreement has been sealed worth £6.6 million to cover further costs on the scheme.
If the site is not ready to start producing energy by March, NextEnergy has also retained the right to withdraw from the scheme. The deal is not expected to have any impact on the shape or progress of the development.
The Condover solar farmwas approved at a meeting at Shirehall in January, despite opposition from the parish council and local residents of the village near Shrewsbury.
The company behind the original planning application – Monmouth-based SBC Renewables, which was previously known as Solar Building Company – remains involved with the scheme and is to help with its construction.
Solar farms have been a source of increasing controversy recently, with a string of planning applications submitted throughout Shropshire.
NextEnergy declined to comment on who had sold the development.
