Yorkshire Water enlists asset manager Downing to develop ₤ 25 million solar portfolio

• Yorkshire Water is set to decarbonise its procedures by means of a ₤ 25 million portfolio made up of 28 solar sites.

To attain this, the utility firm has actually gotten the assistance of investment and also asset manager Downing LLP to create, design as well as construct a solar portfolio with a generation capacity of around 21MW.

As soon as completed, the project will directly add to Yorkshire Water's 2030 net zero pledge aiming to release up to 120MW of solar by 2030 together with a minimum of 30% of all electrical power use coming from onsite renewables.

" This project is a considerable action in reaching our goals of carbon net zero by 2030. As a result of changes in the treatment process at our sites over recent years, numerous have been entrusted surplus operational land which can be made use of for the generation of renewable energy," claimed Daniel Oxley, commercial programme manager at Yorkshire Water.

" These have been determined as well as will come to be home to new solar panel ranges. Once finished, the initial release of solar panels will certainly produce 4% of our yearly power needs, raising our renewable resource usage, decreasing our exposure to power price volatility as well as reducing the operational costs of our sites, which will provide much better value for money for our customers."

Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust described in its 2020 Prospectus plans to elevate ₤ 200 million to establish a portfolio of renewables including solar PV.

This focus on solar generation led to Downing securing numerous deals to establish sites across the UK. In March 2021, the company stated it had actually obtained a 96MWp portfolio of UK solar PV assets for ₤ 42 million.

The portfolio is composed of 13 ground-mount sites across mainland Britain with a complete capacity of c. 73MWp, 28 commercial roofs with a capacity of c. 10MWp and 7 household rooftop portfolios throughout Northern Ireland with an overall capacity of c. 13MWp.

Downing's latest project with Yorkshire Water aims to continue the firm's strong solar portfolio whilst showcasing the advantages of responsible financial investment as the globe races in the direction of net zero targets.

" We're delighted to be partnering with Yorkshire Water for this solar project. Aiding a national utility firm with its objective of getting to net zero by 2030 is a fantastic instance of Downing's commitment to responsible investing," claimed Sean Moore, financial investment director at Downing.

" We are delighted to sustain energy-intensive industries such as water companies in making progressive strides to decrease their carbon footprint."

The firm's strong asset efficiency drove its profit on financial investments 16.9% above assumptions earlier this year, with portfolio generation 4.7% over expectations at 195GWh. Thus the company is expected to take a better market share in the coming years as it builds its eco-friendly portfolio.