Member Article

Sunny side up - MP Sir Ed Davey & Mayor of Bedford visit Solar Farm

The Mayor of Bedford Dave Hodgson and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, MP were among a group who visited the Bedford Green Technology & Innovation Park project on 4th of February to see how the site will be transformed from a former landfill site into a 21st Century solar park.

The site at Elstow has undergone extensive remediation works to transform it into a green energy park with work now underway to install the council-owned solar farm which will generate over 4MW of zero carbon electricity for the grid. Vital Energi are currently on site at the 30-hectare plot, installing the piles that will support the steel frames. Once this work is complete, the installation of circa 8,000 panels will take place.

Scott Lutton, Vital Energi’s Operations Director - North & Scotland comments, “Playing a part in transforming this land from a former landfill site into a 21st century zero-carbon energy park is extremely exciting and will make a significant contribution to Bedford Borough Council on their journey to net zero. It is a great example of how to reclaim sites of this nature and turn them into something truly inspirational”.

The project will help the council meet their targets of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and they were awarded more than £1.8m from the South East Midlands Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) Getting Building Fund towards the project.

Mayor Dave said “It was great to see the progress at the Bedford Green Technology & Innovation Park. This project will not just deliver green electricity but also encourage others to reduce carbon emissions and adopt innovative technologies”

Sir Ed added “I was delighted to be shown around the Park. I would like to congratulate Mayor Dave Hodgson and Bedford Borough on this hugely innovative project to deliver cheap, green, energy. The £2.3million from the Council along with £1.8million from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) show real investment in our future energy supply.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gordon Coates .