- Otterpool Park’s Master Developer has signed an exclusive agreement with clean energy infrastructure firm SNRG to design, build, and operate smart grids for the new 8,500-home Garden Town in Kent – enabling one of the UK’s first all-electric new towns.
- The SNRG smart grid integrates and optimises onsite energy assets — including renewable generation, communal battery storage, EV charging, and heat pumps — to reduce the import of electricity from the grid.
- The project is expected to save residents millions of pounds on their energy bills over the next 30 years, with significant savings from day one.
- Housebuilders which connect to the smart grid are expected to save around £4,000 per home on the cost of rooftop solar, with SNRG’s model providing a technical and financial blueprint for developers to meet the incoming Future Homes Standard.
- SNRG’s funded smart grid solution mitigates construction costs and grid connection challenges, supporting Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s net zero ambitions while generating long-term financial returns for the council.
Otterpool Park’s master developer has signed an exclusive agreement with clean energy infrastructure firm SNRG to offer a pioneering smart grid solution to housebuilders for the new 8,500 home garden town in Kent – enabling one of the UK’s first all-electric new towns.
Backed by Antin Infrastructure Partners and Centrica, SNRG is set to design, build and operate a dedicated and funded private wire microgrid which would manage locally-generated clean electricity across the Otterpool Park development, making affordable and zero-carbon energy available to homeowners.
Power would be generated by rooftop solar panels and distributed to homes and businesses across the site, with excess generation stored in communal batteries ‘behind the meter’, and used intelligently through onsite monitoring and cloud-based software to help meet demand. Subject to planning, the company also plans to develop a 12MW solar park on council-owned land adjacent to the site – which, if approved, will provide power to the smart grid, alongside the rooftop solar.
Otterpool Park is set to comprise over 8,500 new residences, with a substantial portion of these being affordable homes. Clean energy assets would have a total combined capacity of up to 39MW and the potential to generate 34GWh of electricity for the scheme annually – around half of the town’s demand – marking a major milestone for the use of smart grid technology in the UK.
Through reducing the import of grid-based power, residents on the smart grid would enjoy significant savings on their energy bills from day one, expected to total millions over the first 30 years of their contracts. The community would also benefit from the stability provided by hosting long-term local energy infrastructure, over which they have stewardship, with SNRG responsible for the operation, repair and maintenance of the smart grid.
Crucially, under the agreement, SNRG will fund the solar and storage on site, as well as contributing towards the cost of the distribution network. The council would therefore be able to deliver a sustainable, net zero community – as well as benefitting from a contracted stream of revenue from the proposals – with no upfront costs to themselves, housebuilders or residents.
According to Knight Frank, power limitations are delaying projects for around one-third of developers, with approximately 15,000 homes currently stalled due to grid connection issues. A report by LCPDelta also highlights rising costs, with new connections reportedly exceeding £10,000 per home in some cases and reaching £14,000 per home in specific developments.
SNRG’s approach has the potential to accelerate the connection of new developments and reduce grid reinforcement costs. Additionally, the funded financial model increases project viability, making net zero homes a financial and technical reality. At Otterpool Park, it is estimated that developers who choose to connect to the smart grid could save £4,000 per home on the costs of providing solar PV alone – which could total almost £34m across the site.
At a time when the government is seeking to build 1.5m new homes and a ‘generation of new towns’, the SNRG model can help to unlock major new developments, as well as providing a blueprint for local authorities and housing developers to meet the new solar mandate in the forthcoming Future Homes Standard.
SNRG is working on a significant pipeline of projects across the country in the residential, industrial and commercial segments as the company continues to grow, with Otterpool Park set to be a springboard for major commercial activity in 2025 and beyond.
Dan Nicholls, Chief Product Officer and Otterpool Project Lead at SNRG, said:
“SNRG is delighted to have been selected by Folkestone and Hythe District Council to deliver clean power to Otterpool Park. Our smart grid infrastructure will allow residents to benefit directly from renewable energy generated on their doorstep – whilst also providing a model for future developments which can ease costly and lengthy grid delays and reduce the cost of building sustainable homes. I believe this project shows how we can and should decarbonise our built environment.
The Otterpool development is in line with our core mission to accelerate the UK’s net zero transition. We look forward to partnering with housing developers as well as industrial and commercial customers to help them to deliver smart solutions for complex energy projects.”
Jim Martin, Leader of Folkestone and Hythe District Council, said:
“The solar park and rooftop solar, connected to the smart grid with a battery storage system, will create sustainable power for the new town for years to come and will provide residents with reduced energy tariffs.
I firmly believe that this is a credible pathway to achieving net zero in operation at Otterpool Park and is a perfect example of what can be delivered using renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.
Whilst the solar park is subject to a planning application, which will of course enable the public to give their views and allow further scrutiny by councillors, the prospect of generating green power on land already owned by the council and at no cost to local taxpayers is very attractive.It is envisaged that alongside the solar panels, sheep would be able to graze and the land could offer space for community gardens and an orchard.”
Notes to editors
- SNRG is a leading clean infrastructure developer for complex energy demands.
- Founded in 2018 and backed by Centrica and Antin Infrastructure Partners’ NextGen Fund I, SNRG develops projects across the Industrial & Commercial and Residential sectors on both new build and retrofit; funding, building and operating place-based renewable energy systems.
- The SNRG SmartGrid is an intelligent private wire microgrid that integrates advanced onsite monitoring, control, and communication technologies with cloud-based software. It seamlessly connects and optimises multiple energy assets on a single site, reducing reliance on grid imports.
- Otterpool Park LLP is a private company, currently wholly owned by Folkestone and Hythe District Council.
For media enquiries please contact:
Patrick Cousens, Amy Colwell
[email protected]
Contact number: 0800 058 4581
