Custom Solar, part of Mitie Power & Grid, has officially broken ground at Bassingbourn Barracks in Royston, Cambridgeshire, ahead of the start of construction on a new solar installation for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), on behalf of the Army.
Spanning over 30,000 square metres, which is the size of four football pitches, and featuring more than 5,000 solar panels, the almost £4 million project will produce around 2.2mWp of renewable electricity each year. This is enough to power the equivalent of 800 UK homes annually, meeting approximately 35% of Bassingbourn Barracks’ annual electricity demand. Over its lifetime, it could cut carbon emissions equivalent to removing around 650 cars from the road annually.
Alongside the solar installation, the project will deliver a local Ecological Enhancement scheme, including the installation of bird boxes, bat boxes and insect hotels, providing a variety of habitats for insects such as bees, butterflies and ladybirds. This will support local biodiversity and reflects both the Army’s and Mitie’s shared commitment to responsible land stewardship, and decarbonisation.
The project follows Mitie Power & Grid’s successful delivery of another solar installation at Weeton Barracks in Lancashire, which became operational in February 2026. Both the Weeton and Bassingbourn arrays have been delivered under the Army’s Project PROMETHEUS. Together, these projects reinforce Mitie’s growing track record of delivering practical, large‑scale renewable energy infrastructure for defence customers, helping cut carbon emissions, improve energy resilience and support the Government’s decarbonisation agenda.
Mark Caskey, Managing Director, Mitie Projects, said:
“Breaking ground at Bassingbourn Barracks builds on our long‑standing relationship with both the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and the Ministry of Defence, and reflects the confidence placed in Mitie to continue delivering solar energy projects across the defence estate.
“Following the successful delivery of the solar installation at Weeton Barracks, we’re pleased to be working with the DIO again to deliver a project that strengthens on‑site energy resilience and supports wider decarbonisation objectives.”
Lieutenant Colonel Ed Brooks, Army Sustainability, Efficiency and Exploitation (SEE) Team Energy Lead, said:
"We are delighted to see work getting underway on a new solar installation at Bassingbourn Barracks.
“By increasing the supply of renewable energy across Army sites, we are building a more sustainable estate that will strengthen our energy resilience and support operational capability, while protecting the environments where our people live, work and train."
Warren Webster, DIO Major Programmes and Projects Programme Director – Army, said:
“It’s fantastic to see the start of work on another solar array under Project Prometheus. The project is supplying renewable energy to a number of British Army sites, contributing to the Ministry of Defence’s Net Zero targets. This new array at Bassingbourn Barracks is expected to meet 1/3 of the site’s annual electricity needs, marking another stage in our progress towards our goals.”
Notes to editors
About Mitie: The Future of High Performing Places
Founded in 1987, Mitie employs 84,000 colleagues and is the leading technology-led Facilities Management, Transformation and Compliance company in the UK. We are a trusted partner to around 3,000 customers across the public and private sectors, working with them to transform their built estates, and the lived experience for their colleagues and customers, as well as providing data-driven insights to inform better decision-making.
In each of our core services of engineering (hard services) and security and hygiene (soft services) we hold market leadership positions. We also deliver transformational projects in the areas of power and grid connections, building fit outs & modernisation, decarbonisation, fire safety & security and telecoms infrastructure, alongside compliance capabilities in fire safety & security and environmental services. Our sector expertise includes central government, critical national infrastructure, defence, financial services, healthcare & life sciences, local government & education, retail & logistics, manufacturing & media and transport & aviation.
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Project PROMETHEUS
British Army’s Project PROMETHEUS, a scheme that is increasing renewable energy across the army estate through installation of solar arrays on suitable military sites.
