Anglian Water Services has signed the UK’s largest onsite solar PV generation deal with NextEnergy Capital, Investment Manager for the NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF). In the deal, awarded after a competitive tender, NextEnergy Capital will design, build, operate, and own over 35MW of solar assets on Anglian Water’s operational sites and sell the power directly to Anglian Water through private wire for a 25-year period.

The solar assets will be financed and owned by NESF, an investment company which already has over 700MWp of operating solar plant. NextEnergy Capital views commercial and industrial areas as key growth markets for subsidy-free solar.

Anglian Water has a target of becoming a net zero carbon organisation by 2030. David Riley, Anglian Water head of carbon neutrality said: “This partnership with NextEnergy is a win-win for us and our customers and takes us a step closer to becoming a net zero carbon organisation. Ours is the driest region in the UK, particularly vulnerable to climate change and one of the fastest growing parts of the country. As we tackle these challenges, we are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint including increasing the amount of renewable energy we generate to help power our operations”.

Ross Grier, NextEnergy UK managing director said: “ This is an excellent fit for us, adds long-term contracted revenues to NESF’s portfolio and supplements the growth of our subsidy-free build programme. We remain excited by the growth of zero-subsidy generation, and the diverse opportunities that the UK solar market will present in the coming years.”