The 5MW solar park in Wimborne, near Poole, was energised in October 2022 and feeds electricity into a co-located hydrogen electrolyser to produce renewable green hydrogen. The installation has a design lifetime of 30 years.
Solar modules were installed across the 26 acre former Whites pit landfill site. The electricity generated from the solar park feeds into a 0.9 MW electrolyser to produce circa 120,000kg of green hydrogen per year. When electricity from the solar farm is not available it will be supplemented with green electricity generated from CRE’s 2.5MW landfill gas power station. This ensures the hydrogen production can continue day and night powered by on-site renewable power generation.
Any excess electricity not used by the electrolyser or private wire is exported to the local distribution network. This will benefit the Dorset economy and further reduce its carbon footprint. The Dorset Green Hydrogen project is also a catalyst for the development of a hydrogen economy in the South West.
When designing and developing solar systems on ‘made ground’, we need to cover several key elements:
- Stability risk assessment
- Site Investigation Report
- Landfill Infrastructure Maintenance Risk Assessment
- Ground Gas risk assessment
- Landfill summary
- Positive Planning
- Detailed Foundation Engineering
From the initial design, planning and permit application through to build and commissioning CRE worked with MW scale solar and environmental specialists to ensure the project delivery.
Neil Buck, Managing Director of Ethical Power Ltd who were contracted to build the site commented that ‘brownfield developments [on previously used land, e.g. landfill sites] are typically more complex than greenfield projects. To successfully build on a landfill site, you need a deep understanding of the complexities around existing land use, challenging ground conditions and the specific mounting structure requirements.
The southwests first green hydrogen production facility, providing a source of clean, zero-emission hydrogen fuel for decarbonising heavy transport and saving 3,556 tonnes of CO2 a year.
