RWE has commenced construction of 330 MW of solar capacity across seven sites in the United Kingdom. Two of the sites will include co-located battery storage (BESS), while the other five projects will be designed for future storage integration.

RWE has begun construction of seven new solar and co-located battery projects in the United Kingdom.

The seven sites, located from North Devon to Lincolnshire, will have a combined installed solar capacity of 330 MW. The developer will install a 35 MW BESS at the Langford site and a 10 MW BESS at the Claydon site. It said it is building the other five sites to facilitate the future co-location of battery storage, in order to maximize the best use of the grid.

The developer said it will install the first projects from the solar portfolio it secured through the acquisition of JBM Solar. Mobilization is now underway at the sites, and the projects have secured contracts for difference.

UK contractors Ethical Power and Equans Solar & Storage have won construction contracts for the projects and will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services.

The first of the seven sites is expected to become fully operational by the end of this year. Once all of the sites are fully operational, they will be capable of meeting the average annual electricity needs of over 140,000 typical UK homes.

“Quick to deploy and using the most modern solar technologies, we aim to maximize the generation potential of these sites for the UK; with a national target to increase solar capacity fivefold by 2035 and similar for battery storage, our projects will play a key role in helping ensure the UK decarbonizes its power grid and achieves its challenging net zero targets,” said Katja Wünschel, the CEO of RWE Renewables Europe & Australia.

RWE has set a target of commissioning about 450 MW of new UK solar capacity per year up to 2030 in support of the national solar targets. Globally, it plans to increase its installed solar capacity from 3.9 GW to 16 GW by 2030.

In February, the company announced the construction of a 450 MW plant in Greece and its first utility-scale storage facility in the Netherlands.