Riding Sunbeams Solar Railways
- Capital Investment - Getting Building Fund, East Sussex, More than £2m
Approval status
Fully approved
Delivery status
Project in progress
Expected completion date
Expected Autumn 2022
The project will build and connect the world’s first megawatt scale community renewable solar energy plant directly powering the direct current railways located in the heart of East Sussex.
The project will be delivered through an innovation collaboration between green technology start-up Riding Sunbeams and Network Rail and will develop the route to market for subsidy free renewable energy generators to directly supply the UK’s largest energy user.
Project Update – September 2021
At the Accountability Board meeting in September 2021 it was agreed that the project met the conditions for the retention of GBF funding beyond 31 March 2022, for a maximum period of 6 months. This decision was endorsed by the Strategic Board at their October 2021 meeting.
| Project Outputs | |
|---|---|
| Jobs created/safeguarded | 40 |
| R&D facilities floorspace unlocked (sq m) | 6,000 |
| CO2 emissions avoided (kg) | 3,280,009 |
£85m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock
The Getting Building Fund focuses on projects that can progress quickly and that will stimulate and better integrate economies in some of the most economically impacted and COVID-affected parts of the South East.
£85m of Getting Building Fund investment has been secured, enabling delivery of 34 projects across East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock.