Low Carbon Taps SmartestEnergy to Market 300‑MW UK Solar Power

• Low Carbon signs route‑to‑market PPAs with SmartestEnergy for 300 MW of UK solar, showcasing merchant financing, community funds and tech‑forward design.

Low‑profile doesn’t mean small‑scale. London‑based developer Low Carbon has quietly assembled one of the country’s largest merchant solar portfolios, and this week it took a decisive step forward by signing long‑term route‑to‑market power‑purchase agreements (PPAs) with SmartestEnergy for a total of 300 MW of capacity. The deals cover a spread of utility‑scale sites in England and Wales that are due online between late 2025 and summer 2027.

Unlike the UK’s government‑backed Contracts for Difference, route‑to‑market PPAs allow generators to sell electricity directly into wholesale markets while hedging price risk through a specialist offtaker. In this case, SmartestEnergy—an arm of Japan’s Marubeni Corporation—will provide 24/7 balancing, forecasting and settlement services, effectively becoming the commercial bridge between Low Carbon’s solar parks and Britain’s power exchanges.

Why it matters

• Scale and timing: At 300 MW, the portfolio could supply close to 90,000 homes with emissions‑free power and displace more than 70,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year once fully operational. Coming online just as ageing gas plants retire, the projects will help shore up supply during the UK’s tightest capacity margins in a decade.

• Merchant momentum: With wholesale prices still volatile after the 2022 energy crisis, corporates and traders alike are looking for flexible, short‑lead‑time assets. By opting for merchant PPAs rather than subsidies, Low Carbon keeps the door open for future corporate offtake or battery add‑ons without being locked into strike‑price ceilings.

• Financial signal: The agreements demonstrate that large‑scale solar can attract competitive financing even without CfD backing. Sources close to the developer say the portfolio reached financial close at an average gearing of 75 %, supported by debt from both UK and continental European lenders.

Tech and community angle

Most sites will feature bifacial panels on single‑axis trackers, squeezing extra yield from Britain’s diffuse sunlight. Low Carbon has also earmarked 2 % of annual revenues for community benefit funds, paying for energy‑efficiency upgrades in nearby schools and grants for local biodiversity projects—a gesture that helped smooth the planning process in counties often wary of greenfield development.

In a joint statement, the companies framed the deal as “proof that the UK’s liberalised power market still rewards innovation.” If construction proceeds on schedule, the first megawatt‑hours under the SmartestEnergy banner will flow to the grid by Q4 2025, reinforcing the trend of agile, subsidy‑free solar accelerating Britain’s march toward its 2035 decarbonisation goals.