Creacombe
Barely visible from local viewpoints, our solar farm at Creacombe provides clean energy without spoiling the countryside.
Our solar farm at Creacombe has a capacity of 4.4MW. It generates power while providing a future grazing area for sheep.
The construction of the solar farm at Creacombe was funded by Community Owned Renewable Energy LLP (CORE). Commissioned in December 2019, Creacombe benefited from a Feed in Tariff (FiT). Ownership transferred to YCE in late 2023. In YCE receives an annual contribution to our Community Fund from the revenues.
The site reflects YCE’s commitment to developing projects on low-grade land, continued agricultural use, and biodiversity enhancement. The grade 3b land aims to be grazed by sheep under and around the solar panels in autumn and winter.
The solar farm also lies within the South Devon B-Line, one of three pathways in the South of England designed to help conserve our native insect pollinators.
Our latest milestones
Annual Community Benefit Funding round
Calls for proposals from local organisations are made each year. 2024 awards have been made and the next call will be in February 2025 for applications to be made in april for energy and environment projects. For the details of the criteria and how to apply see https://www.yealmenergy.co.uk/documents
YCE Community Benefit fund has now closed for 2024 applications
Thank you to everyone who applied for a grant from YCE's Community Benefit fund. All applications will now be submitted to the committee for review. Announcements will be made in mid-June.
Only one week left till YCE's Community Benefit funding round closes.
Closing date for the 2024 round of Community Benefit funding is 21st April 2024. Good luck with your applications! Any applicant does need to show match funding. All guidance available on YCE's website.
YCE announces date of AGM
YCE invites all members to attend its first AGM as owners of 3 local solar farms. The AGM will be held on Tuesday 18th June 2024. 6pm start at Yealmpton Community Hall. Come and hear how busy the team have been on your behalf!
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We have made the news all over the UK today!
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4166525/uk-solar-farms-transferred-community-ownership
YCE take ownership of 3 local solar farms.
YCE are delighted to announce completion of 3 local solar farms into community ownership. We would like to thank all of you that invested in our share offer to realise this long held ambition.
Share Offer is now closed.
A tremendous thank you to everyone who invested in YCE's share offer. The offer is now closed. YCE are delighted to have been able to secure the 3 local solar farms. What a journey this has been! We aim to complete on the purchases by the end of 2023.
Investor testimonial as we reach £400,000 raised on YCE share offer
£400,000 share raise milestone reached and a super testimonial from one of our investors. "YCE is an inspirational community endeavour. An initiative which will go down in the history of 'what did South Hams do to respond to the Climate Emergency?' as one of the most worthy of projects. My husband and I are investors. Proud to support a meaningful and well thought out project which aims to benefit local communities, can provide a return on investment as well as supporting ambitious renewable energy projects. I hope this is shared far and wide. Good luck to the A Team!!"
A total of 6,286 MWh in 4 months!
It has been an excellent Spring and Summer so far for sunshine, and the solar farms at Newton Downs and Creacombe & Marlands have been generating plenty of electricity to sell to the grid. Over the whole year they will produce the equivalent of about 4000 households, i.e. all of the houses in the 5 parishes.
Biodiversity is blooming at Creacombe
A peak at the blooming biodiversity at Creacombe solar farm just 18 months after construction finished. Two breeding bird surveys have been conducted in 2021, 24 species were recorded on site with an overall abundance of 143 individual birds.
Streaming a science lesson to schools.
We were delighted to be part of a brilliant 4G live streamed science lesson from the Creacombe site, to local schools across Plymouth and the South Hams, organised by Exeter University’s Exeter Science Centre. It was an interactive lesson with many questions from the lively 250 children taking part.
Greeting some buzzing new guests to Creacombe Solar Farm!
We've now taken delivery of 4 sets of solar powered beehives which arrived safely and are settling in at Creacombe Solar Farm. Introducing honey bees can lead to improved outcomes for the local environment. The obvious and immediate benefit comes from the bees, who offer pollination services to local trees, plants and nearby agricultural crops.
The data is in on our farms!
We love data from our local solar farms at Creacombe and Newton Downs! 2020 gave us a production of just shy of 13 Million units of electricity. Power to the People!
The first week of biodiversity work complete!
Great to see the first biodiversity works completed at Creacombe Solar farm. All areas within the security fence were sown with a fine grass seed mix that will allow wildflowers to establish. Green hay was spread from a nearby farm in between the panels on site.
Sir Gary Streeter visits Creacombe Solar Farm
Yealm Community Energy welcomes Sir Gary Streeter, MP for South West Devon to Creacombe Solar Farm. The local MP asked to return to the site when the wildflowers were established later in the year. Mr Streeter said “Creacombe Solar Farm is a bold and pioneering project that can lead the way for a real step-change in the UK.“
Creacombe community solar farm completes construction
The UK’s first post-subsidy community solar farm, Creacombe Solar Farm near Yealmpton, South Devon, has now been completed and was connected to the grid at the end of January.
Creacombe nearing completion
All 18,000 panels are now in place and are being connected to the invertors and the substations. Work is expected to complete by the end of December, when it will be connected to the grid.
The planning application is in!
The landowner, Gnaton Farms has made a planning application for a 7.3 MW solar farm, with negligible visual impact, on the borders of Holbeton, Yealmpton and Newton Ferrers/Noss Mayo. They wish to offer it to the local community to purchase, and would give Yealm Community Energy preference to do that. We are in discussions with them on agreeing the basis on which we could purchase it.
Get involved
We launched a community share offer in 2023 to fund the transfer of three nearby operational solar farms into community ownership. The offer is now closed.
