Manchester council has pulled out of buying a solar farm which it was set to start using by next year. The town hall, which was in talks over buying a site outside of Greater Manchester, has concluded that the scheme is not suitable.
The local authority is still looking to secure a renewable energy source to supply most - if not all - the power it needs by January 2024. This is crucial if the council is to meet its target of halving its own carbon emissions by 2025.
However, rather than owning and operating its own solar farm, the council could become an investor in a new facility which would guarantee access to the energy created. It comes after councillors agreed to make a final offer to purchase a specific site understood to be elsewhere in the North of England.
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The new solar farm was expected to be operational by the beginning of next year. But the council has now confirmed it is no longer considering this site.
Labour councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is Manchester council's executive member for environment, said: "We are exploring in detail options to decarbonise our energy supply to help achieve our ambitions of halving the council’s carbon emissions by 2025 and reducing them to zero by 2038 at the latest. One option we have been looking at is the potential to own and operate our own solar farm.
"This idea had exciting potential to deliver both environmental and economic benefits, and we had put in an initial bid for a specific planned solar facility. But we were clear that we would only go ahead with this purchase if it was the right deal for the city – a sound investment which met our climate change objectives while protecting our financial position.
"We have carried out our due diligence after the initial bid and reluctantly concluded that that the particular development we were considering is not for us. A number of risks were identified and as a responsible council, and custodian of public money, it would not have been the right thing to go ahead.
"We remain determined to cut the council’s direct carbon emissions significantly through directly-sourced renewable energy. This could either be through the purchase of an alternative, more suitable solar facility if one can be identified or through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Under a PPA we would be an investor in the construction of a new solar facility, guaranteeing access to the renewable energy created, rather than owning and operating one.
"Either way, our ambitions to harness renewable energy generation to dramatically reduce our direct carbon emissions are undimmed."
Earlier this month, the council's environment and climate change scrutiny committee was told that the local authority cannot meet its science-based carbon cutting target if it buys an existing solar farm. Instead, the council would have to identify and start using a new source of renewable energy.
Last month, a council report explained that buying a 50mw solar farm would help the local authority meet its target of halving carbon emissions by 2025. The move would also help the council eliminate all carbon emissions by 2038, although this would happen anyway as the National Grid is decarbonised.
The report also said that if a similar sized solar farm is not secured, the local authority would need to look at purchasing renewable electricity through other means such as a PPA. However, with energy markets currently in a state of high uncertainty the costs of this option have risen sharply, the report said.
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