Nova Powers UK Quarry with a Floating Solar Farm
Nova has switched on the UK’s newest floating solar farm for one of the UK’s largest producers of high-quality industrial silica sand.
The successful ‘powering up’ of the 400kW floating photovoltaic (FPV) array, made up of 650 floating solar panels on North Arclid Lake, marks a significant milestone for Bathgate Silica Sand’s drive to decarbonise its century-old quarry operations and reduce its energy bills.
The FPV array – with a footprint equivalent to two Olympic swimming pools – is generating clean electricity for Bathgate Silica Sand, reducing energy costs and giving the company greater control over its energy security.
“This is a significant moment for our business and shows that quarries are playing a key role in creating a more sustainable future. Many thanks to Nova for delivering on time and managing every aspect of the job, allowing us to focus on our core day-to-day quarrying operations.”
Nova delivered the project, from start to completion, in just six months. The project leverages Nova’s years of experience as an internationally recognised leader in marine energy, which saw it develop the world’s first offshore tidal array in Shetland and Scotland’s first FPV project.
“Achieving first power at the Cheshire quarry is a significant milestone and a testament to our team, who delivered this project in just six months. The array is already reducing our client’s energy bills. It clearly demonstrates what floating solar can offer to businesses with access to water bodies. We are excited about what this project signals, both for our pipeline and for the role floating solar will play in the UK reaching its 2035 target.”
Developed in partnership with RSK, the team provided the client with a simple ‘one stop shop’: from initial feasibility, through design, securing consents, installation, and operation. The end-to-end approach allowed Bathgate Silica Sand to have the energy asset installed without any interruption to its business. Bathgate Silica Sand awarded the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contract to Nova in December with first power delivered in May.
Whilst energy prices continue to soar, the FPV array is an excellent example of how industrial businesses can utilise floating solar on existing water assets to lower energy bills, support their transition to low-carbon energy, while preserving valuable operational land.
It comes as the UK’s floating solar sector is starting to play an increasingly significant role in the UK’s energy mix. A recent report by CBI Economics champions floating solar as a major opportunity to lower bills, boost UK power generation, strengthen energy security and support the UK’s transition to a low carbon power system.
The Government's Solar Roadmap has also committed to increasing national solar capacity to 70GW by 2035, with floating solar identified as a key technology capable of contributing at pace and scale, across lakes, reservoirs, ports and harbours.