Warrington solar project hailed as UK’s most advanced

A major new solar project for Warrington Borough Council is claimed to be the most advanced in the country, incorporating several UK-first technologies.

Built in partnership with Gridserve across two sites at York and Hull, the £62.34m project will produce enough green electricity to power around 18,000 homes. The York site - where work will begin shortly - will consist of a 34.7MWp hybrid solar farm plus a 27MW battery storage system, the largest at any UK solar facility. Electricity from the York farm will be sold on the open market initially, and the council claims that other local authorities have expressed interest in buying this power.

A 25.7MWp solar farm at Hull will follow in a later phase, supplying Warrington Borough Council itself with 100 per cent green electricity and cutting its bills by up to £2m a year. There are also plans for battery storage at the Hull site. According to the developers, they will be the two largest solar farms built in Great Britain since 2016.