Good Energy, the Chippenham renewable energy firm, has started generating electricity from its latest solar farm, the 5MW Rook Wood scheme near Royal Wootton Bassett.
The 25-acre site near Marlborough Road will supply enough electricity to power around 1,100 homes, bringing the number of solar farms developed and operated by Good Energy to three with two more under construction. 
The company has also confirmed a further, unspecified, drawdown from the £45m debt facility it secured with London-listed infrastructure debt fund GCP Infrastructure Investments last December.
The facility supports the further development of Good Energy’s solar generation portfolio with the aim of taking the total installed capacity of wind and solar to 29MW. Its existing solar farms are at Woolbridge in Dorset and Creathorne Farm in North Cornwall.
Good Energy founder and CEO Juliet Davenport said: “This latest addition to our generation portfolio will make an important contribution to the renewable energy targets for Wiltshire, while helping Good Energy meet the demands of its growing numbers of customers. It also demonstrates the value of solar power as part of our renewable electricity generation portfolio.”
Good Energy head of development Simon Wheeler added: “The solar farm has been carefully designed to allow the landowner’s sheep to continue to graze around the solar panels. We will also be sowing wildflower seeds across all three fields, to enhance biodiversity and provide valuable habitats for local wildlife.”
Good Energy has more than 50,500 renewable electricity customers and 24,000 gas customers.
