On a vast expanse of land behind a commuter town just east of London, 108,000 newly installed solar panels glint in the sun, soaking up energy that will soon be transported through cables to the UK capital.
Ordinarily, the site, which is bigger than 28 football fields, would have been attractive to developers looking to build houses, which are in short supply in this part of the country. But the land parcel near South Ockendon, a half-hour train ride from central London, has lain barren for the past 25 years.
Dig a few feet into the ground and you’ll find out why: the site sits atop a 5 million-tonne rubbish heap that threatens to spew out poisonous methane if its seal is damaged.
The project, set to be one of the biggest solar parks in the UK when it comes on line by next month, will help solve a space dilemma often faced by clean energy providers tasked with supplying power to big cities.
Although population density increases demand for cheaper and cleaner forms of electricity, it also creates a shortage of available land.
“You can’t do a lot with a closed landfill, there aren’t too many competing reuse options for it,” said Matthew Popkin, who works on a project to encourage renewables development on brownfield sites at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a think tank based in Colorado, US.
“And unfortunately, but understandably, there is a landfill of some kind in most communities across the world because of the trash we have generated.”
The farm has capacity to generate 58.8 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 17,000 homes, pushing the UK a notch closer to its goal of increasing solar capacity nearly fivefold by 2035. But completing the project hasn’t been easy.
While installing solar on disused rubbish heaps may be a logical solution to a space issue, it poses technical challenges that pushed up the price of the project.
The panels had to be fixed in batches to ballasted bases made of concrete to prevent the foundations, which can normally be dug as deep as 3 metres into the ground, from piercing through the seal of the landfill site.
Some had to be installed with adjustable legs in case the ground moves over time as the rubbish underneath decomposes.
The project costs roughly £850,000 ($1.1 million) per megawatt of power it will produce, around 5 per cent more than a solar farm installed on ordinary land, according to Eamonn Medley, director of business development at NTR, the renewables investment manager behind the project.
Similar ventures have been undertaken in other parts of the world, such as the US and southern Brazil, and sometimes the cost can be as much as 15 per cent higher, depending on the state of the landfill, freight and material prices.
As with many other renewables projects, inflation has also posed major challenges, though Mr Medley and his team were able to push on without delaying the installation thanks in part to a contract to sell all the energy generated for the first 10 years to BT Group. After that the site will sell the energy produced at wholesale market prices.
“We saw the turbulence in module pricing, in the steel and in the transport costs,” Mr Medley said during a tour of the park last month. “We also saw it in the wholesale price and in the exchange rates – there was inflation in everything.”
The cost of materials is starting to come down thanks to an oversupply of solar components from China that flooded the market, crashing spot prices to record-low levels, according to BloombergNEF data.
That, coupled with how viable it has become to build on wasteland can prove to be a boon for developers, potentially unleashing a new wave of projects. BloombergNEF expects over two gigawatts of capacity to be installed in the UK this year, up from 1.2 gigawatts in 2022.
Large-scale solar farms are usually built on disused land, but often that’s difficult to find near the big cities that need the electricity the most. The UK’s largest park – with 72 of capacity – is in North Wales. An even bigger park is under construction near Faversham in Kent, just over 50 miles from London.
In the UK, many new renewables projects, especially those in remote locations, are also constrained by their lack of grid connection, with some facing a decade-long wait to be connected. That wasn’t a problem for Ockendon, which was purchased with a grid connection offer in place.
Transmission, distribution and proximity to electricity use are important factors when planning a solar project, according to Mr Popkin.
“In most cases, landfill solar offers a win-win to reinvent these sites for future energy needs,” he said.
If it weren’t for the black plastic methane valves dotted among the solar panels on the Ockendon site, you wouldn’t know that you were walking over layer upon layer of rotting rubbish. Vast landfill sites like this are present near every major city and often aren’t being used.
“The question is, can we achieve the returns that the market is looking for on renewables building on a landfill, where you have to spend more money than you would normally spend?” Mr Medley said. “It’s hard, but it can be done.”
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
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The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
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