Tuesday 3 December 2019

Anglian Water heads towards net zero with renewable energy deal

Investment manager NextEnergy Capital is to build a series of solar projects at Anglian Water sites to help the firm decarbonise its energy use.

The companies have signed an agreement which will see NextEnergy Capital design, build, operate and own more than 35MW of solar assets on Anglian Water’s operational sites and sell the power directly to the water company over a 25-year period.

The investment manager, which is part of the NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF), won the contract following a competitive tender process and claims the deal is the largest on-site solar photovoltaic generation tender to date in the UK solar market.

The agreement is expected to help Anglian Water deliver its target of becoming a net zero carbon organisation by 2030.

David Riley, Anglian Water’s Head of Carbon Neutrality said: “We never stop looking for ways to improve what we do, to keep us ahead in a changing world, and our renewables ambition will see us integrate solar and energy storage to help us in our journey to becoming a more sustainable business.

“As we tackle these challenges, we are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint including increasing the amount of renewable energy we generate to help power our operations. We look forward to working with Next Energy UK as we deliver our programme and deliver further benefits for our customers, the community and the environment.”