The largest solar farm in the country is now in use after being connected to the national grid.

The solar farm at Howbery business park in Oxfordshire caters for a quarter of the park’s energy requirements, generating 682MWh a year.

There are 3000 solar panels in the array, which are expected to save 350 tonnes of CO2 at the Wallingford business park.

The array was constructed by British solar power company Solarcentury.

The 682MWh per year generation is enough power for around 200 homes. Across Europe, there are solar farms up to 10 times bigger.

John Ormston, chief executive of Howbery business park said: “The park will be one of only a few business parks in the UK where occupiers are able to secure a direct electrical supply from a solar array.”

The construction of the solar array follows the government’s Feed in Tariff scheme, where suppliers pay incentives to those who generate their own electricity from renewable resources on a small scale.