The award recognises the 10-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) under which the university purchases 80% of Medebridge’s annual output, covering 65% of its total electricity demand. We structured the agreement with EDF, which provides balancing, shaping and sleeving services, and Inspired, the university’s energy and sustainability adviser. It took over three years to negotiate and required more than 40 legal agreements. It is the UK’s largest solar CPPA with an educational institution.

Medebridge is our 71MWp solar farm spanning 175 acres near South Ockendon in Essex. Operational since September 2025, it generates around 72,500MWh of clean electricity annually and avoids more than 14,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year across the grid. For the University of Manchester, the CPPA is reducing emissions by around 12,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, a step towards the university’s target of zero direct carbon emissions by 2038.

The project sits within the corridor of the Lower Thames Crossing, which required sustained engagement with National Highways, alongside coordination with Veolia, multiple landowners and utility operators. Our in-house legal team closed over 40 legal agreements covering land access, easements, grid sharing and planning compliance, and we installed more than 690km of cabling as part of a bespoke grid solution. We began construction in spring 2024, and the site became operational 16 months later without a health and safety incident.

Thank you to everyone at Enviromena and our partners who made this possible.