Statkraft has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Gresham House, and a corporate power purchase agreement with Workspace simultaneously, for the Gresham House-managed Beavor Grange Solar Farm in Devon. The 20 MW solar farm is large enough to power the equivalent of 6000 homes, or 2/3 of Workspace’s total power demand.
This agreement, which runs for ten years, from February 2024, will see Workspace receive as-generated power from the solar farm in Devon and receive renewable energy guarantees of origin (REGOs) to show the source of the power. Workspace have also agreed to use Statkraft’s Firming service, which converts as-generated power into baseload, allowing the company to incorporate this into their standard supply contract.
A firming service is where Statkraft take the as-generated power from the asset and buys power from the market when the generator is not producing power and sell surplus during high production periods, meaning a pre-agreed consistent amount of power is provided to the offtaker.
Increasingly, energy consumers are seeking to show commitment to renewable generation, to specific power plants or construction projects. CPPAs allow them to take off a specific renewable projects’ physical power, or its pricing. Statkraft supports both generators and end customers with finding their partners and enable them to mitigate their respective risks.
A long-term agreement such as this provides certainty to the generator and investor confidence, therefore facilitating the building of more renewable energy infrastructure, as well as providing budget certainty to the offtaker, which can lock in a ten-year price for their power.
Acting as a market integrator. Statkraft sourced renewable generators in the UK by issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to find appropriate renewable projects looking for a long term offtaker for their asset. Whilst doing this, Statkraft also searched for corporates looking to source clean energy as part of their green ambitions and were able to link the two parties.
“We're delighted to bring Beavor Grange and Workspace together in this long-term agreement. Both parties have secured prices for ten years and using Statkraft’s Firming service, Workspace are able to easily transfer this CPPA into a standard supply contract. This contract is one of a growing number of Firming contracts that Statkraft has signed, and we’re anticipating even higher volumes of business in this area during 2024,” said Andy Cooper, Statkraft’s Head of Downstream.
“Workspace’s partnership with Statkraft for a long-term power purchase agreement marks a significant step towards our net zero carbon commitment,” added Sonal Jain, Head of Sustainability at Workspace.:” The recent agreement at COP28 for countries to triple their renewable energy capacity by 2030 is supported by decisions like ours, which enable new capacity on the grid, rather than simply procuring from the existing supply. This is by far the most responsible way for businesses to secure a substantial share of clean, green electricity.”
“We are delighted to have signed another PPA with Statkraft and to have the Corporate PPA with Workspace Group plc. It is important for us to be able to secure index-linked, long-term revenue for the power produced from our solar farm, so this 10-year CPPA is ideal and we look forward to working with both parties over the coming years,” commented Wayne Cranstone, Investment Director at Gresham House.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global's Winter 2023 issue
The Winter 2023 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles weather analysis, geothermal solutions, energy storage technology, and more. This issue also features a regional report looking at the future of renewables in North America, and a report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Energy Global, on how Iceland utilises its unique geology for renewable energy.