Solar Farm Owners & Developers

Commercial rooftop projects differ from solar farm developments in pretty much all significant commercial regards. The buyers for a ground-mount opportunity are largely landowners, developers, community energy organisations and infrastructure funds and, unlike for a rooftop project, typically do not include a facilities manager or Sustainability Manager. 

This is probably the reason why ground-mount solar advisors or solar farm consultants and landowners focus their activities as a different solar development consultancy service rather than adapting them from elsewhere.

The Landowner solar developers UK are normally proposed with what's predominantly a developer's lease and option. An experienced and impartial landowner solar consultant UK review safeguards the landowner's business before signing, on elements including:

• Independent examination of the developer's terms against those that would apply in the market on a commercial basis
• Consideration of the nature of the option agreement itself, with due regard for the length of the option term and circumstances where an extension is provided.
• Advice in relation to the solar farm lease agreement, and the manner of rent reviews and conditions relating to end of term restoration.
• Identification of clauses that unduly transfer risk to the landowner.

Before a large amount of investment is put in place, it is a common process to complete a solar farm feasibility analysis to assess whether the site is in fact capable of delivering your intended capacity. The work undertaken as part of this project includes;

• Capacity testing against the physical limitations of the site
• Grid capacity at the connection points
• Mapping the planning constraints landscape, ecology, heritage, etc
• Access assessment for construction vehicles and regular maintenance vehicles

On UK solar projects, the typical investor will engage an investment solar project consultant, to look at several potential investments. That same solar project consultant would use the exact same matrix as a due-diligence one, from one project to the next so the investor gets an apples to apples approach to how invested in how many and how all.

Grid connection is often the single largest source of cost and time uncertainty in the development of a solar farm. As a solar farm grid connection consultant, Arc Renewables' service includes:

• Direct liaison with appropriate DNO/NGED on behalf of developer/investor
• Comparison of capacity offers against technical/commercial criteria 
• Negotiation of connection costs if there is room for manoeuvre 
• Risk of connection timeline against overall delivery programme

A lender or infrastructure investor buying an operational (or soon-to-be operational)

solar farm will require UK solar farm technical due diligence carried out independently

of the project's original developer. This typically covers the following:

• Comparison of technical performance against design parameters.
• Evaluation of current O&M contract and contractor experience. 
• Identification of deferred maintenance or latent defects impacting valuations.
• Comparison of grid connection and planning conditions against actual requirements.

After the solar farm has been built, over the lifecycle of 25+ years, continued monitoring is essential to ensure the solar farms are delivering on their predicted performance. Arc Renewables' solar farm asset management UK services include:

• Close, continuous monitoring of solar farm operational performance against the modelled baseline projections.
• Management of the operation & maintenance of the solar farm, including managing any appointed contractors.
• Planning for and execution of lifecycle event activities, including repowering when the asset matures.