North Cornwall Solar Farm Goes Live

Creathorne Solar Farm, Good Energy's new 1.8MW solar site in north Cornwall, began exporting its first electricity to the national grid earlier this month.

The 10-acre site, near Widemouth Bay, is Good Energy's second solar farm to go live and is now generating enough electricity to power approximately 430 homes.

Good Energy's first solar farm in Woolbridge, Dorset, began operating at the end of June and both are part of the company's strategy of generating 50% of its renewable electricity needs from its own sites by 2016.

Construction of Creathorne Solar Farm began at the end of June and has taken just under six weeks to complete.

““It's great to see the site up and running, and making a contribution towards Cornwall's renewable energy targets,” said Simon Wheeler, Good Energy's Head of Development.

“We also think it's a perfect example of how solar power generation and agriculture can work side-by-side, as the land-owner is continuing to operate his free range chicken farm on the site and will be able to continue to graze sheep on the fields, in between the solar panels.”

Good Energy has a Development Charter that outlines its commitment to the sites it develops. The parishes of Marhamchurch and Poundstock will receive payments into a Community Benefit fund which will be administered by the parish councils, who will determine how the money will be spent.

The local community will be able to apply for funding and the appropriate Parish Council will award the money to those projects they judge as best serve the needs of the community.

“We will be introducing a species-rich grassland to enhance the existing improved pasture,” added Simon. “We'll also be adding appropriate native planting to the existing hedgerows along the southern and western boundaries as well as creating small plots of wild bird cover with suitable nesting and foraging conditions for many species.”

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About Good Energy

Good Energy is a fast-growing 100% renewable electricity supply company, offering value for money and award-winning customer service. An AIM-listed PLC, and founder member of the Social Stock Exchange, our mission is to support change in the energy market, address climate change and boost energy security. Good Energy matches over the course of a year all the electricity its customers use with power from renewable sources. For the last three years, Good Energy has topped the Which? energy company customer satisfaction survey. Good Energy's dual fuel tariff is cheaper on average than the standard tariffs sold by the 'Big 6' before discounts.