Autumn '21

News
GREENSCAPE
A FURTHER BOOST FOR
SOLAR IN THE UK
Solar Energy UK has welcomed the
confirmation that solar power will be
included in the latest round of the
Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.
Solar power will be eligible to
compete for up to 3.5GW of
electricity generation capacity in
the key renewable energy auction,
due to take place in December 2021.
Solar’s inclusion reflects analysis in
Solar Energy UK’s Lighting the way
report, which details the contribution
CfDs and solar power can make to
the UK’s climate change targets.
Chris Hewett (below), Solar Energy
UK Chief Executive, said: “This will
give a further boost to solar in the
UK, which has already built 730MW
of solar energy projects in the last
12 months. There are over 4GW of
projects that will be eligible to bid for
these contracts.”
He added: “The UK needs to triple
its solar capacity to 40GW by 2030
to stay on track for its own carbon
targets, so we welcome this level of
ambition from the Government. This
commitment needs to be sustained
and extended to rooftop solar, to
create another 13,000 new green
jobs.”
MOTORWAY SERVICES WILDFLOWER GREEN ROOF SCOOPS BALI AWARD
ABG Geosynthetics and Geogreen
Solutions, its BALI affiliated installation
partners, have been recognised with
a prestigious British Association of
Landscape Industries (BALI) award for
their work on the new Leeds Skelton Lake
Motorway Services.
The services sits adjacent to a 40,000m 2
area of country park, so to ensure the
development blends in to the surrounding
lakeside and to minimise the visual impact
of the development, the main 5,277m 2
amenity building features an over-arching,
undulating green roof.
The wildflower roof system was delivered
by ABG Geosynthetics and their
installation partners Geogreen Solutions.
A member of the BALI judging team
visited the site at the beginning of July,
and then convened with other members
of the panel over three days in August
to assess the entries and determine the
winning schemes.
Following a record number of entries this
year, Geogreen was announced as winner
in the Category of Roof Garden project
with a value over £500K.
Geogreen’s work encompassed all aspects
of the installation for the 11 separate
ribbon areas and the judges recognised
the contribution the roof design makes
to enhancing the biodiversity of the site,
providing a significant area of native
grassland for local insect and bird species.
The green roof also plays an important
function as part of the development’s
overall sustainable drainage strategy,
absorbing rainwater and minimising
surface water run-off, with as much as
95% of rainfall naturally absorbed into
the vegetated surface. The vegetation,
growing media and filtration fabrics within
the green roof construction also helps
filter dust and pollution from the air and
rainfall, thus reducing the amount of
chemicals and pollutants that reach the
surrounding river networks.
This project has also been shortlisted
in the Green Roof category of the UK
Roofing Awards.
The BALI awards event is being held at
the JW Marriott, Grosvenor House Park
Lane Hotel on December 3.
Read more on this project at
www.greenscapemag.co.uk
6 GREENSCAPE AUTUMN 2021 • www.greenscapemag.co.uk