Solar Farm Asset Management

Our Asset Management team manages 15 solar farms, 5 of which were originally developed by Green Nation, and the remainder awarded to us to manage post-development. Aggregate capacity of the sites is over 90 MW.

Solar farms appeal to policymakers and investors because they can operate predictably and at low cost for several decades. This does however require continuous active management.

The ultimate objectives of solar farm asset management are to make the site perform to its maximum potential as a business in terms of:

  • Solar electricity output
  • Revenues earned
  • Cost control
Jonathan at Whitelake Solar Farm

The work carried out by Green Nation asset management team includes:

  • Relationships with landowners, local communities, suppliers, local authorities, regulators and lenders
  • Monitoring and detailed analysis of output from the sites
  • Identification of opportunities to improve the operation of the site and correct pre-existing faults
  • Oversight of the contractors who carry out preventive and corrective maintenance and any one-off improvement projects
  • Set up agreements to capture the various revenues solar farms earn, raise invoices and collect the monies
  • Manage bank accounts and pay suppliers
  • Management accounts and oversight of auditors
  • Insurance policies and claims
  • Reporting to asset owners, lenders and regulatory authorities
  • Contract negotiations and dispute resolution
  • Life extensions for sites
  • Compliance with Health & Safety best practice and regulations

Our in-house team includes technical and commercial asset managers, analysts, accountants and legal expertise. Our asset management team takes an active, hands on approach to managing the assets under their management. The team carries out regular site visits to check conditions and oversee technical work, as well as remote monitoring and performance analysis to ensure assets are performing as expected.

Monksham Solar Farm, Somerset
Team Leader: Helen Hardaker

Helen has ten years’ experience in the solar power industry, including several years in the Operations & Maintenance team of BSR (British Solar Renewables) as Contracts Manager. Helen joined Green Nation in September 2019 and has since overseen a doubling of the team size and of assets under management, and guided the ongoing development of our processes and practices.

Team Leader - Helen Hardaker

Case Study Whitelake Community Solar Farm

Green Nation built Whitelake solar farm in 2015 on land owned by two farmers near Pylle, Somerset. It is a community solar farm that uses its profits to support ground-breaking charity Key4Life

Whitelake Community Solar Farm

Case Study Whitelake Community Solar Farm

Green Nation built Whitelake solar farm in 2015 on land owned by two farmers near Pylle, Somerset. It is a community solar farm that uses its profits to support ground-breaking charity Key4Life.

A 5 MW site, it has worked almost flawlessly since commissioning, producing over 5,000 MWh of electricity annually.

Sheep grazing on the fields produce milk used to make award-winning cheese by landowner Whitelake Cheeses.

The site is ultimately owned by Mendip Renewables Ltd, a Community Benefit Society formed for the purpose. Surplus profits generated by the site have funded donations by Mendip Renewables to Key4Life, a Somerset-based charity that helps young men who have been in prison or are at risk of going to prison find employment. To date, the site has donated £51,000 to Key4Life.

In addition to successfully overseeing the operation of the solar farm, Green Nation organised the funding for the site, including a bond issue in 2018 managed by Triodos and a senior loan from Triodos Bank, and manages filings by Mendip Renewables with the Financial Conduct Authority.

Whitelake Community Solar Farm

Case Study: Monksham Solar Farm 10.7 MW

Monksham Farm is in the hamlet of Marston Bigot, just outside Frome, Somerset. Green Nation was first introduced to the landowners, Rachel and Patrick Twigger in Autumn 2012.

Monksham Solar Farm

Case Study: Monksham Solar Farm 10.7 MW

Monksham Farm is in the hamlet of Marston Bigot, just outside Frome, Somerset. Green Nation was first introduced to the landowners, Rachel and Patrick Twigger in Autumn 2012.

Green Nation signed an option agreement for a lease in January 2013 after securing an offer of a grid connection from the network operator Scottish & Southern Electricity (SSE).

We submitted a planning application in May 2013 and received consent in September.

Preparations for build included commissioning reinforcement works by SSE to enable the solar farm to connect to the grid, agreeing with Somerset Highways the best route into this rural site for delivery vehicles, and getting permission to lay a cable under a local lane to reach the Point of Connection to the grid. Unusually, no archaeological investigation was necessary.

Monksham Solar Farm

Build started in early January 2014 with Goldbeck as main contractor. Despite it being one of the wettest winters on record, the site was commissioned at the end of March, only a few days late.

Following completion, Green Nation commissioned extensive planting around the site boundaries which, combined with the relatively flat landscape on and around the site, minimises its visual impact on the surrounding countryside.

Green Nation manages the site on behalf of investors, who since July 2015 include quoted fund John Laing Environmental Assets Group.

Green Nation monitors performance data from the site daily and organises corrective action where required, and manages subcontractors who provide maintenance services, 24 hour security monitoring through CCTV, insurance, landscaping and grass-cutting, as well as crucially collecting the revenue earned by the solar farm.

Monksham Solar Farm

Frequently Asked Questions