Nova Innovation Awarded Contract to Deliver AquaGen365 Floating Solar Array on Lake at Cheshire Quarry
Nova Innovation has secured a new contract through its AquaGen365 partnership with RSK to deliver a floating solar farm for one of the UK’s largest suppliers of high quality industrial sand.
The Scottish clean energy specialists will install a 400kW array consisting of 650 floating solar panels on North Arclid Lake, an artificial lake on the site of Bathgate Silica Sand’s Arclid quarry in Cheshire, where industrial sand has been quarried and processed for over a century.
“We are delighted to have awarded the project to Nova and RSK, and we are looking forward to it becoming operational in the summer. This floating solar array is hugely significant for our business. The beauty of it is that it allows us to generate renewable energy on site, whilst preserving land for our day-to-day quarrying operations.”
The installation of the floating solar farm – the equivalent of two Olympic-sized swimming pools – will help Bathgate Silica Sand decarbonise its processes and deliver cheaper energy for its operations.
The contract is another successful step for AquaGen365, the joint venture between Nova and RSK, as it expands into the quarrying sector. AquaGen365 provides a ‘one stop shop’ solution for floating solar from initial feasibility, through design, securing consents, installation and operation. The ‘one stop shop’ helps businesses navigate this process by offering a complete service to deliver cheaper energy that requires minimal client involvement.
In the case of Bathgate Silica Sand, AquaGen365 carried out a feasibility study and identified the potential at the site. It secured permission from Cheshire East Council to install the floating solar array. Bathgate Silica Sand then awarded the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contract to Nova to build the array.
“Having successfully completed the design stage, we are excited to enter the delivery phase of this project for Bathgate Silica Sand which will lower their energy bills and help decarbonise their operations. This comes at a time of growth in the floating solar market. Businesses with access to water bodies can use floating solar to realise their clean energy ambitions. This technology is highly scalable, providing real scope to deliver further projects – a factor that will have a significant impact on the success of the UK in reaching its 2035 target.”
The contract comes as the floating solar industry begins to build momentum across the UK. In June the UK Government unveiled its Solar Roadmap, which provides a commitment to increase solar capacity the length and breadth of the country to 75GW by 2035.
The roadmap recognised floating solar as a technology that could make a sizeable contribution towards this target due to the ability to deploy at pace and scale on lakes, reservoirs and in ports and harbours. This would help meet net zero targets, boost manufacturing and support thousands of skilled jobs.
“We are delighted to have used our wealth of experience in environmental consenting and planning, led by our experts at Stephenson Halliday to help Bathgate Silica Sand achieve the permissions needed to install this floating solar farm on North Arclid Lake. This shows how AquaGen365’s ‘one stop shop’ approach provides the expertise required to achieve planning and consenting quickly and efficiently for those looking to install floating solar. We hope Arclid provides a real-life example to others with similar ambitions.”