Work begins on green energy park in England

Bedford Borough Council was awarded more than £1.8 million from the South East Midlands Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) Getting Building Fund in 2020, enabling plans for the all-new Bedford Green Technology and Innovation Park to become a reality.

Work to cap the closed 30 ha. site with clay began in 2020 and the site is soon set to become home to more than 1800 solar panels, which will generate and supply onsite buildings and local businesses with low carbon, clean energy.

Construction teams are on site and at work and to date 120 000 t of materials have been brought onto the site for the capping works, now underway. Once the capping works are completed a platform will be formed for the installation of the solar panels.

Plans are also progressing to use the site as an education and training centre, with early support already pledged by the University of Bedfordshire, Cranfield University and local colleges.

SEMLEP’s site visit to Bedford Green Technology Innovation Park.

Hilary Chipping, Chief Executive of SEMLEP, said: “It’s so exciting to see this former landfill site being transformed into such an innovative energy park. We look forward to the Park generating green, low carbon, clean energy in Bedfordshire, encouraging others to reduce carbon emissions, adopt innovative technologies, and improve air quality.”

Mayor Dave Hodgson said: “This is a really exciting project, creating green energy at a former landfill and creating jobs right here in Bedford Borough.

“The Council has consistently worked to lead the way on tackling climate change, working to reduce our carbon emissions towards a target of being carbon neutral by 2030. This site will give more local businesses the option to use low carbon, clean energy.”

With preliminary works now underway, Bedford Green Technology and Innovation Park is due to be completed by early 2022.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Spring 2021 issue

The Spring issue of Energy Global features a varied spectrum of in-depth technical articles detailing recent projects, future projections, and technological advancements in the renewables sector, from companies including GlobalData, Atlas Copco, Watlow, QED Naval, TRACTO, AB Energy, and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/special-reports/12052021/work-begins-on-green-energy-park-in-england/