Paul Carpenter Associates were very pleased to be involved in the development of Britain’s largest solar park, situated on two huge sites in Somerset. The scheme was developed by our Client, Solar Power Generation Ltd, and will generate in excess of 10 mega watts which is enough power for 1500 homes.

We only became involved in the scheme at the 11th hour, on 5th August, and the programme for delivery from green field to switching on the power to the grid has been ridiculously short; some eight weeks with a contract value well in excess of £20 million, including laying 11km of cable down public roads!  This necessitated huge resources on the sites with over 140 personnel working daily. The short timescale was essential to meet the enhanced government tariff.

The panels are mounted on a piled framework above the ground. There are a lot of ancillary structures, transformer housings and infrastructure which we were also involved with. This necessitated a very proactive approach in short timescales.   

The structural and civil side had to be subservient to the huge M & E provision. Other works we were involved with include the design of an 11m span temporary bridge with sleeper abutments and reporting on a damaged property following impact by a large delivery vehicle.