Lightsource Renewable Energy has started operations at the 12 MW Charity Farm solar farm, the UK’s first CFD-backed solar project.

Lightsource Renewable Energy has started operating the 12 MW Charity Farm solar farm, the UK’s first 'Contract for difference'-backed solar project.

Connected on June 30th, the Charity Farm installation, in Shropshire, has an installed capacity of 11.94 MW and was one of five solar projects to win support in the first round of CFD auctions last year.

Lightsource built the project with £8.7 million of funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland and says that all the power generated by the project will be purchased by supplier Axpo UK Limited in a deal worth £7.5 million over seven years.

CFDs are the mechanism that replaced the Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) scheme for solar energy projects over 5 MW. They offer producers stable revenues for energy generated by setting a ‘strike price’.

Charity Farm won its CFD contract with a strike price of £79.23/MWh (2012 price).