Ecotricity has announced plans to build three new renewable energy parks in the UK using wind and solar energy.
The renewable energy company says it will complete the three projects by adding solar farms to two wind farms in Devon, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. The new solar farms will add 15 MW of capacity to the grid.
"Hybrid renewable energy parks are a great idea – the two power sources are complementary and what you get in combination is a more consistent energy supply; it may sound obvious, but when there’s less sun in the winter, there’s typically more wind, and vice versa in the summer months – so putting wind and sun together has a big impact," said Ecotricity founder Dale Vince.
The firm says that the energy market in the UK is "rigged" in favour of fossil fuels and has called on the government to remove subsidies for coal and gas as they have proposed doing for wind and solar energy.
"Those stealth fossil fuel subsidies add up to £1000 a year for each household; compare that to just £100 a year for renewable energy, which now provides 25 per cent of Britain’s electricity – that’s £100 well spent and a big part of the reason why we’re so confident that with a level playing field renewable energy would thrive," added Vince.
