Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), via its wholly owned subsidiary Vantage RE Ltd. (Vantage RE), has joined forces with BELECTRIC GmbH (BELECTRIC) with the signing of an Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contract for the construction and commissioning of 102MW solar farms in the United Kingdom.
Expected to be fully-functional by Q1 2024, the solar farms are to be built on two sites and will provide stable long-term revenues under a 15-year Contract-for-Difference (CfD) subsidy scheme.
The project delivery will be overseen by the Vantage RE team and, once operational, will generate enough clean energy to meet the equivalent annual needs of over 37,000 homes and save over 46,750 tonnes of CO2 compared to fossil fuel generation.
Both sites also offer opportunities for environmental initiatives to promote biodiversity net gains, supporting TNB's wider biodiversity agenda.
TNB President and Chief Executive Officer, Dato' Indera Ir. Baharin Din expressed that the development of the solar farms falls in line with TNB’s global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2050, as outlined in TNB's Sustainability Pathway, and will grow its solar generation portfolio in the UK.
“Our experience and expertise in developing solar farms here in Malaysia via large-scalesolar (LSS) projects will be crucial in ensuring this project will be a success, further solidifying our presence in the UK's RE space."
The project also includes an option to develop 65MW co-located Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), which upon development may enhance TNB's revenue streams through participation in ancillary services and the capacity market. This investment represents a significant milestone for TNB as it broadens into renewable energy (RE) greenfield development in the UK.
"This is an important step towards future-proofing TNB's business as it transitions to a green economy and ensuring that shareholder value continues to be well protected. The move upstream into greenfield development is in line with TNB's aspiration in becoming a global sustainable energy provider,” he added.