Luminous Energy

UK renewables developer Luminous Energy has reached financial close for its 28.5-MWp Bracon Ash solar power project located near Norwich, England.

The firm on Tuesday announced Novuna Business Finance as the funding partner supporting the project, without disclosing details on the financing.

Germany-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) specialist Belectric has been awarded the contract to build the Bracon Ash solar farm, and will also take on operation and maintenance duties for five years once the plant is up and running.

Luminous Energy expects the solar farm to produce first power in the summer of 2024, it said.

Bracon Ash is notable for being Luminous Energy's first wholly-owned project and marks the firm's move into the independent power producer business as it celebrates its tenth anniversary.

"Bracon Ash marks the start of our strategic shift towards becoming an independent power producer and in a challenging market environment demonstrates our capability to construct, finance and operate our own significant project pipeline. We are now actively seeking third-party equity investment to help us further deliver against this strategy," said Guy Lavarack, Luminous Energy's chief investment officer.

UK's Luminous Energy hits fin close for 28.5 MWp of home solar

A Wiltshire-based renewable energy and battery storage developer has achieved financial close on a Norfolk solar farm.

Bracon Ash Solar Farm will be Luminous Energy's wholly-owned solar farm, which is expected to achieve first power in the summer of 2024 and generate enough electricity to power more than 9,500 households annually.

The 28.5 MWp solar farm signifies Luminous' transition to an independent power producer, coinciding with the company's 10th anniversary celebrations and a new growth phase.

David Bryson, chief operating officer of Luminous Energy, said: "We are delighted to continue our contribution to the fight against global climate change with the construction of Bracon Ash Solar Farm, which aligns with South Norfolk Council's emissions reduction goals as well as the national target to achieve net zero by 2050. It also demonstrates our dedication to working closely with local communities. The final design, which incorporates community feedback is expected to deliver a 203% net biodiversity gain."

Read more: Cornish Lithium announces 'landmark' £53.6 million investment

BELECTRIC, a leading EPC service provider with over two decades of experience in the development, construction and operation of solar power plants, has been awarded the contract to construct Bracon Ash Solar Farm. BELECTRIC first joined forces with Luminous Energy in 2013 when the two companies signed a joint development agreement and subsequently developed a number of successful projects together.

Luminous Energy has also agreed a five-year contract with BELECTRIC to oversee the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the solar farm once fully constructed.

BELECTRIC's managing director Barry Bennett said: "We are excited to once again collaborate with Luminous Energy on the Bracon Ash Solar Farm project. This partnership is a testament to our expertise in the international solar sector and history of working successfully together."

Guy Lavarack, chief investment officer, Luminous Energy, added: "Bracon Ash marks the start of our strategic shift towards becoming an independent power producer and in a challenging market environment demonstrates our capability to construct, finance and operate our own significant project pipeline. We are now actively seeking third-party equity investment to help us further deliver against this strategy."

Philippe Bazin, head of sustainability and green infrastructure at Novuna, the project's project financing funding partner, added: "The solar market's continued growth and stability make it an attractive sector for investment. Luminous Energy's innovative approach, combined with our flexible debt finance offering, further enhances the viability of projects like Bracon Ash Solar Farm. Novuna Business Finance is committed to supporting projects that have a positive environmental and social impact, and we are delighted that Luminous Energy has chosen us as their funding partner to help deliver the next key phase of their strategy."

Once operational, Bracon Ash Solar Farm will contribute £10,000 each year towards local community projects and Luminous Energy will be working during construction to establish an appropriate structure to oversee and administer these funds on its behalf.

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Luminous Energy financially closes on first wholly-owned solar farm

Germany-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Belectric has secured a contract to build a 28.5-MWp solar farm near Norwich in Norfolk in England.

The Bracon Ash solar plant will be set up on behalf of British renewables developer Luminous Energy, according to a press release published Wednesday.

The facility is expected to produce enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 9,500 households annually when it becomes operational which is expected to happen in the summer of 2024. Under the contract, Belectric will also oversee the operations and provide maintenance services to the plant.

The order from Luminous strengthens Belectric's presence in the UK where last year it was contracted to construct two solar farms with a combined capacity of 102 MWp.

Earlier this month, the company also won a contract to build four solar sites with a planned total installed capacity of over 75 MWp in the Netherlands.

Belectric to build 28.5-MWp UK solar plant for Luminous Energy

Prof. Alexandre Tkatchenko of the University of Luxembourg addresses one of the greatest mysteries in physics: dark energy.

Physicists are currently coming up with the same probable answer to these questions: dark energy. This hypothetical entity, which accounts for two-thirds of all the energy in the Universe, is thought to be responsible for its accelerated expansion. However, we don't really know what it is.

Defining this energy and calculating its precise value could help bring together two major schools of thought: quantum field theory (QFT) and the general theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein. The only problem is that, until now, QFT calculations have been far from consistent with the observations made by our telescopes. This discrepancy has haunted physicists for more than a century.

That may well change in the future, thanks to the work of Prof. Tkatchenko's team from the Department of Physics and Materials at the University of Luxembourg. In a pioneering publication, published in January 2023 in the prestigious journal Physical Review Letters, they set out a completely new definition of this mysterious dark energy.

To help us understand, we asked him some questions about his findings.

What is dark energy, and what problems does it raise?

Dark energy is everywhere, but most of it lies between the stars. It could account for up to 70% of the energy in our Universe.

But if it is everywhere, why do we know so little about it?

"In our daily lives, its influence is not felt. It is within our tables and the rest of matter, but we have no way of "feeling it" with available instruments -- all the other effects on earth are much stronger. So, at first sight, it seems of limited interest to us. But for the universe, it is the most important phenomenon: it is the force that opposes gravitation" (the attractive force that acts between massive objects, such as galaxies).

You could think of it as two hands pulling on the fabric of the universe: one - gravitation - to roll it into a ball, the second - dark energy - to stretch it. The latter seems to be winning the battle, preventing the Universe from collapsing and even accelerating its expansion.

The problem is that, until now, when physicists tried to pin down its exact value - via the cosmological constant - using quantum field theory, the result was between 60 and 120 orders of magnitude greater than that measured by our telescopes! This made it impossible to represent what it is, blocking our understanding of the Universe.

However, thanks to the new approach developed by Prof. Tkatchenko's team, this discrepancy could be eventually resolved, making it possible to calculate a cosmological constant that is identical in quantum physics and astrophysics.

So, what does this mean? Let's first define what this cosmological constant is, and how it relates to dark energy.

What is the cosmological constant, and how does it relate to dark energy?

Prof. Tkatchenko explains: "Our telescopes (Hubble, Planck and Webb) take measurements in the Universe, and more specifically in the vacuum. This data is used to determine certain parameters of space and time. One of these parameters is the so-called cosmological constant, which has been known for 100 years thanks to Einstein's equations. This constant essentially defines the energy density of the vacuum field, or what we commonly call dark energy".

But how dense can energy be in the Void?

"Actually, it is a truly minuscule energy density at every point in space," notes Tkatchenko. The energy density of matter (the table, the earth, etc.) is much higher than the energy density of vacuum. But the latter constitutes an enormous percentage of the total energy density of the Universe: quite simply because the Universe is rather empty! There isn't much matter, and there's an enormous amount of space."

What is the problem with the cosmological constant?

Quantum field theory predicts an enormous vacuum energy density (around 10^114 J/m3 or, in terms of mass, 10^95 g/cm3 if the Planck length of 10-35 m is used). But if this were the case, it would tear the universe apart. Astronomical data, on the other hand, indicate that such a cosmological constant (expressed in mass) must be 10^-29 g/cm3, which represents a discrepancy of 60 to 120 orders of magnitude depending on the method of calculation!

This staggeringly colossal mismatch is sometimes known as the "vacuum catastrophe" and represents one of the greatest problems in physics today.

Solving it would enable quantum field theory to finally catch up with general relativity, a veritable revolution in science, from the infinitely small to the infinitely large.

How does Prof. Tkatchenko's team solve the problem?

Let's start by explaining their findings.

The vacuum is not empty (that would be too simple!). The "vacuum", i.e., space devoid of matter, has energy and can be considered as a quantum field.

"Quantum fields have transient fluctuations of particle-antiparticle pairs, or 'virtual excitations'," explains Prof. Tkatchenko.

We could think of these as spontaneous appearances of particles with an infinitesimal life span, but capable, during their brief existence, of interacting with each other like any other particles. Like ghosts appearing in an empty room, exchanging a few words, and disappearing in the blink of an eye. This is why the vacuum is not empty.

These "virtual excitations" form so many tiny, short-lived dipoles. In other words, our ghosts play tennis before they vanish.

Prof. Tkatchenko explains: "The interactions of these dipoles lead to a vacuum polarisation density. This is what we call 'vacuum self-interaction'. Our main contribution is to define this polarisation".

This is the innovative - and particularly elegant - idea behind their research. Because this intrinsic and finite polarisation of the vacuum can be measured, calculated, and integrated into the pre-existing equations of physics.

"We have defined this polarisation in previous work, based on models we have for atoms," explains Tkatchenko. "Usually, we use quantum mechanics to describe physical phenomena, but QFT doesn't really help us to understand the nature of reality. We have gone in the opposite direction, taking what we know about the molecular world and applying it to quantum fields".

The value thus obtained," explains Prof. Tkatchenko, "is consistent with the observed value of the cosmological constant. More precisely, it lies between the two recent measurements of the cosmological constant Λ obtained by the Planck mission and the Hubble space telescope."

Prof. Tkatchenko's team has therefore succeeded in extracting a cosmological constant corresponding to the one observed in astrophysics, and not the one calculated in quantum field theory.

And the name of the publication? It is entitled "Casimir Self-Interaction Energy Density of Quantum Electrodynamic Fields". Crystal clear!

Has this new approach already been put to the test?

As always in science, any new theory requires a rigorous testing phase to verify its validity. If the predictions it generates are confirmed by experiments, then it is valid until proven otherwise.

Tkatchenko says: "Our prediction is that there is an intrinsic polarisation of the vacuum field, even in the absence of matter. This is a falsifiable prediction, and we hope that future experiments will confirm it. In that case, it will be indisputable that the value we have found is the cosmological constant".

On the other hand, fundamental quantum field theory could validate it by calculation. "Some experts in my group are currently working on this", says Tkatchenko.

Let's hope they succeed!

Apart from calculating the cosmological constant, what is the scope of this new approach and what possibilities does it present?

The possibilities are immense!

Indeed, if the approach taken by Prof. Tkatchenko and his team proves to be correct, it could integrate everything up to and including gravitation, paving the way for a grand unifying theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Such a theory would truly transform the world of physics.

Indeed, gravitation has not yet been described by quantum mechanics, despite it being one of the four fundamental interactions of our universe (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear and weak nuclear). In the world of the infinitely small, the other three forces are extremely powerful, eclipsing the effect of gravitation to the point of making it inaccessible to calculation.

"We have already been able to obtain a derivation that seems to correspond to the gravitational force", says Tkatchenko. "Integrating gravitation has never been done before".

Some examples of practical applications?

Understanding quantum interactions enables us to put them to practical use in the macroscopic world.

On this subject, Tkatchenko cites the example of polymorphism in molecular crystals. Many drugs are available in the form of tablets (crystals). Depending on the structure of these crystals, the active principle of the drug works - or not. "We know which interactions stabilise the functional forms of drugs. This is an example of something very practical. The methods developed by my team are already used routinely by the pharmaceutical industry".

In the field of nanotechnology, their work could also have very practical applications: the previously mentioned Casimir force impacts the assembly of nano- and micro-materials and creates a considerable logistical problem.

A final word?

According to Prof. Tkatchenko, dark energy is luminous, since it comes from the interaction of photons with an electric field...

The next time our children look up at the sky and ask us what's between the stars, we can give them this wonderful answer: luminous energy.

Luminous Energy

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UK's Luminous Energy hits fin close for 28.5 MWp of home solar

Luminous Energy financially closes on first wholly-owned solar farm

Belectric to build 28.5-MWp UK solar plant for Luminous Energy

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