DLA Piper advises City of London Corporation on pioneering renewable energy deal with Voltalia

DLA Piper is advising the City of London Corporation on its entry into a sleeved power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy renewable energy from the Dorset Solar Farm. The PPA was procured by the City in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulations.

The City’s governing body expects to save GBP3 million by buying more than half of the electricity powering the Corporation’s historic buildings in the Square Mile from a subsidy-free solar farm in the south-west of England made up of 95,000 new solar panels over the next 15 years.

The governing body has run Britain’s historic financial heart on green energy sourced from existing renewable energy projects since 2018, but this new GBP40 million deal will mark the first time the Corporation will help build a new renewable energy project. ,

The 49 megawatt project, to be built by French renewables company Voltalia, is expected to generate enough green electricity to power the equivalent of 15,000 homes, or half the energy required to run the Square Mile’s historic Guildhall buildings, the Barbican arts centre and Smithfield market. The clean energy will also be used to help power the Billingsgate and New Spitalfields markets.

The DLA Piper team is being led by Global Co-Chair of Energy and Natural Resources and International Co-Head for Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance, Natasha Luther-Jones, assisted by senior associate Jennifer Keogh, with public procurement advice provided by partner Robert Smith.

Commenting, Natasha Luther-Jones said: “We are thrilled to be advising the City of London Corporation on this first of its kind pioneering green energy supply deal, which will form a template for other local councils across the country to cut their carbon emissions and save money on their energy bills by investing in renewable energy. The deal, which is an integral part of their ambitious climate action strategy, will help cut emissions and tackle climate change, which is a serious and pressing issue.”