Lackford Estate Solar Park wins at Solar Power Portal Awards 2014

Low Carbon’s Lackford Estate Solar Park achieved industry recognition by winning the Solar Power Portal Award for best utility scale solar farm >10MW. The award recognises the solar farm whose commercial viability, yield and ROI is matched by its commitment to sustainable development. Lackford Estate Solar Park demonstrated excellence in site selection, minimal visual impact, system design, on-site generation and yield, community engagement, biodiversity and overall project management.

Sited on 87 acres of Suffolk farmland and invisible from nearby roads thanks to woodland boundaries, Lackford Estate is a solar PV development producing 20,168 MWh and annually powering 6,112 homes. The low-lying site runs beside an SSSI; during construction, care was taken to ensure protection of flora and fauna, and adjacent land will continue to be managed in favour of nesting stone curlews. With the location’s layout considered favourable for the development, excellent project management meant a trouble-free delivery; despite severe weather and tight timelines, the site was commissioned on 29 March 2014, just one year after initial discussions.

Lackford Estate Solar Park was developed by Inazin and the EPC on the project was Goldbeck Solar GmbH. All equipment used on the site conforms to the relevant quality standards with panels supplied by REC and inverters by SMA.