Project info
Driffield Solar and Storage Limited is building a 48 MWp solar farm that is co-located with a 28 MW/28 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on land north of Skerne, Driffield, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The solar farm will produce enough electricity to power approximately 12,000 households per year*. Incorporating BESS facilities with Solar PV is a significant upgrade to regular solar farms. The BESS can absorb excess electricity from the solar farm and then release it when the national grid requires power. BESS facilities are essential to achieve the UK's goal of net-zero carbon by 2050 and ensure homes and businesses can be powered by renewable energy, even when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing.
About Driffield Solar and Storage Limited
Driffield Solar and Storage Limited is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) wholly owned by BayWa r.e UK limited, which forms part of the wider BayWa r.e global business.
- Location
The co-located site will be located over several flat agricultural fields just south of the River Hull. Connection will be made via 66kV overhead line from the onsite substation to the DNO connection point across the river. The location is well suited for the installation of a PV-plant as it is flat with favourable soil conditions.
-
Land Use
The site approximately covers 58 hectares of Grade 3b (moderate quality) agricultural land and may be used by grazing livestock when the Solar PV & BESS are operational. After a 40 year period, the project will be decommissioned and the land will be reverted back to its original state.
-
Ecology
Ecological surveys have been undertaken on the site to identify wildlife habitats to be considered in the development, construction and operational stages.
Several measures will be implemented to preserve and maintain the surrounding trees and hedgerows that provide refuge to species including barn owls, bats and hedgehogs. These include installation of bird and bat boxes across the site in addition to the several hedgehog houses placed on the grassland boundaries.
An ecologist approved Landscaping Ecological Management Plan (LEMP) will be followed for full details and frequency of ecological maintenance during the operational phase of the project.
-
Landscape and Visual
We have carefully considered views from both public locations and private properties. In order to reduce the visual impact, the solar arrays reach a maximum height of 2.5 m, which is equivalent or lower than surrounding trees and hedgerows.
As part of the LEMP, some measures to mitigate landscape and visual impact include:
- Retention, protection & enhancement of existing trees and hedgerows
- Gaps within existing hedgerows infilled with suitable native hedgerow species
- New tree planting on field margins
- Establishment of species rich grassland areas
Site Overview
An overview of the site is seen below:
Project Timeline
Benefits of Driffield
There are several benefits that emerge from the project:
- Clean electricity that can power up approximately 12,000 UK households per year*
- Savings of approximately 13,000 tonnes of CO2 per year**, equivalent to up to 7,000 yearly passenger vehicle emissions***
- On-site battery energy storage system able to quickly provide energy to the grid when required
*based on average UK consumption of 3,700kWh per annum
**based on 2021 average UK grid carbon intensity minus solar PV carbon intensity (265 – 10gCO2/kWh = 255gCO2/kWh)
***average car in UK drives 7,600 miles per year and CO2 emissions per mile 221.4g/mi, releasing 1.682 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year
