Subsidy-free bifacial solar PV-plus-storage project completed in England

December 19, 2019
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
#SmartSolarStorage2020: GRIDSERVE said its new solar-plus-storage site is the first in the UK to include bifacial PV modules and single-axis trackers, as well as being unsubsidised. Image: GRIDSERVE.

Renewables developer GRIDSERVE has completed a “game changing” hybrid solar-plus-storage farm in York, UK, claiming it to be the first in the country to boast single-axis trackers and bifacial panels.

The site combined 37.4MWp of Suntech bifacial modules with 27MW of energy storage, using Nextracker single-axis trackers to shift the site’s generation portfolio into more beneficial hours.

The project is thought to be the most northerly combination of the two cutting edge technologies – bifacial panels and trackers – and the site ‘stacks’ a number of revenue streams in order to be financially feasible without subsidy support.

Toddington Harper, chief executive at GRIDSERVE, said that subsidy-free projects such as this demonstrate that the UK is capable of meeting its net zero obligations “well before 2050”.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

As we kick off the New Year, Energy-Storage.news and PV Tech will be talking #SmartSolarStorage2020. Use the official hashtag on your social media channels to join and follow the conversation.

To read the full version of this story, visit PV Tech.

Additionally, an in-depth project overview is included in PV Tech Power volume 21, published earlier this week. The journal, including that feature-length profile of the project, can be downloaded here (free, with some subscription details required).

15 September 2026
San Diego, USA
You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.
13 October 2026
London, UK
Now in its second edition, the Summit provides a dedicated platform for UK & Ireland’s BESS community to share practical insights on performance, degradation, safety, market design and optimisation strategies. As storage deployment accelerates towards 2030 targets, attendees gain the tools needed to enhance returns and operate resilient, efficient assets.

Read Next

Premium
March 26, 2026
BESS fund manager Gore Street Capital’s director of asset management Daniel Sherlock-Burke recently discussed the work it is doing around capturing and making use of its huge quantities of operational data.
March 26, 2026
Ukraine’s need for energy storage presents opportunities for brave investors, Energy-Storage.news hears from Vadym Utkin, energy storage lead at DTEK.
March 26, 2026
Transgrid has shortlisted nine utility-scale battery storage projects, totalling up to 2GW, to provide critical system strength services.
March 25, 2026
AU$2bn deal secures Boyne smelter to 2040+ with 600MW+ battery storage firming renewables for Rio Tinto’s aluminium production in Queensland.
March 24, 2026
Envision Energy’s director of energy storage solutions, Michael Koller, speaks with Energy-Storage.news at Energy Storage Summit 2026 in London, UK.