Lightrock colleagues

Chris and Ben founded Lightrock Power in 2017 having worked in renewables development since 2010.

Subsidy-free sites in the UK were not yet feasible in 2017, so the pair originally embarked on developing projects in the US. From early 2019 they returned their attention to the home turf of the UK, and soon added storage solutions to their repertoire. 

Whether at home or internationally, Lightrock was created with the determination to develop energy infrastructure in the right way – implementing all the gains to environment, economy and ecology that they can bring.

Lightrock is purposefully structured as a small development team with a flat structure – if you call us you will still be able to speak with Chris or Ben directly. We listen to feedback and implement it wherever we possibly can.

Renewable energy, combined with storage, can help our society transition electricity generation away from fossil fuels but it must be done sensitively. We pride ourselves on being transparent and acting with integrity, not only with our landowners and funders but also, crucially, with the communities that are home to our projects.

Meet the team

  • Chris Sowerbutts

    FOUNDER

    Chris is our resident eco-geek, focused on making efficient grid connections and designing exemplary solar farms. He has a particular interest in collaborating with our wildlife partners to optimise the biodiversity benefits of solar and storage developments. After years of being on Lightrock’s front line, he’s now been able hand over some of the day to day tasks to Jo, Michelle, Rick, and Andy, in order to focus on company strategy.

    Chris lives in Yorkshire, and enjoys gardening with his young family, cycling in the Peak District National Park, and designing his very own eco-home.

  • Ben Davies

    FOUNDER

    Ben comes from a farming background and applies his knowledge of rural land management to solar farms, ensuring they can bring a positive contribution to the UK farming and agriculture industry. He spends his time collaborating with land owners and their agents to ensure a positive outcome for everyone.

    Ben lives in Gloucestershire and enjoys swimming and exploring the South-West with his young family.

  • Jo Mott

    HEAD OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

    Jo has a background in Environmental Consultancy, specialising in Environmental Impact Assessment, Planning and Project Management, and has over 17 years experience in this area. She oversees the day to day planning and environmental assessments of our projects and works with our external environmental consultants to prepare high quality applications.   

    Jo holds a BSc(Hons) and MSc in Environmental Impact Assessment, Auditing and Management Systems. In her spare time she enjoys hiking in the North Yorkshire countryside with her family and the dog.

  • Andy Fewings

    HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT

    Andy lives on a family farm in Wales and has a keen interest in sustainable land use. Andy passionately believes that the advantages of renewables should be shared by all - benefitting the neighbouring communities, the environment, energy security and the climate. This focus has seen Andy’s combined legal, land and development career sit within the renewable energy sector for over 17 years.

    Outside of work and the farm, Andy enjoys walking the coastline and hills of Wales with his dogs, family and friends.

  • Michelle Howson

    PLANNING PROJECT MANAGER

    Michelle holds RTPI accredited Masters degree with a background in environmental policy and sustainability.

    Michelle lives in Yorkshire and, when she’s not ensuring the smooth running of the planning process, spends much of her time travelling around the country with friends and creating healthy (and delicious) recipes.

  • Rickard von Poten

    HEAD OF GRID

    Rickard has worked at the heart of the UK renewable energy sector since the rise of the early solar subsidies era, with almost 12 years of experience under his belt.

    Since joining Lightrock he has assisted in the growth of our ever-expanding UK portfolio, whilst aiding the transition into the transmission realm. As a passionate environmentalist and a proud parent, he has proven to be an ideal fit and feels very fortunate to have joined this inspiring and dedicated team of developers.

  • Fiona Wojciechowski

    COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER MANAGER

    Fiona handles day to day management of Lightrock Power’s PR and communications, writing public documents and liaising with contractors, key stakeholders and local communities.

    Fiona lives in Yorkshire, and enjoys walks in the Peak District with her husband and daughter, and can otherwise be found tending to her wildlife garden.

  • Matt Vahdani

    OFFICE MANAGER

    Matt is the administrative oil that greases the wheels of our little vehicle.

    Matt lives in Yorkshire and can frequently be found on walks with Chris’s family (they’re brothers-in-law) or arranging and practicing new material for his wedding/function band (www.innervibeband.com).

Corporate Social Responsibility

Environment

We’re all aware that we need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in order to combat climate change. While renewable energy sources are plentiful, they are not necessarily available at the time we need them. BESS allows us to harness extra clean electricity when it’s generated alease it when it’s needed. One GB electricity grid has enough BESS there will be no need to use electricity generated by fossil fuels at times of high need.

Lightrock work hard to provide renewable energy, as well as BESS, having ten solar farms in development. Solar is the most abundant energy source readily available on earth, and also one of the cheapest to harvest. The fact that we can do that without emitting carbon dioxide means that solar farms are directly helping to improve the UK’s impact on the fight against climate change.

Ecology

Lightrock go above and beyond, with an ambitions aim to double the statutory 10% biodiversity net gain on our sites. This is achieved by working in partnership with the RSPB and Buglife, as well as seeking advice from other specialist organisations such as the Bumblebee Conservation society and the Wild Otter Trust.

As a result of this, we are delighted that the average biodiversity net gain on our solar farms is well in excess of 100%, meaning that natural habitat will be more than doubled once our projects have been built.

At Sweetbriar Energy Park we’re working with the RSPB and Buglife on our BNG. We’re also keen to work with local wildlife organisations, so please get in touch if you would like to get involved.

Economy

Taking back control of our electricity supply is the only way to ensure long term energy security. As prices soar amid an energy security crisis, well managed, ‘home-grown’ electricity can offer hope. Electricity generated in the UK from renewables will always be cheaper to produce than that imported from other countries. Stabilising our supply through BESS is the best way to ensure that we no longer need to rely on expensive imports. Lightrock’s developments are subsidy free, which means they come at no cost to the tax payer.

At Sweetbriar Energy Park, we will provide a generous community benefit endowment fund. This is likely to be administrated by Lincolnshire Community Foundation, and is designed to last in perpetuity. Please get in touch if you would like to nominate a cause for some of this funding.

Employment

Lightrock is an equal opportunities employer. Employees are entitled to:

- A salary above the National Living Wage

- Generous performance bonuses

- Flexible hours

- Remote working

- Generous holiday entitlement

- Donations to nominated charities

- Healthcare

- Mental health support

Praise for Lightrock:

The team at Lightrock are a real example of how businesses can be allies for nature, tackling the biodiversity and climate crises head-on.  Together, we will work to design nature-friendly solar farms that not only generate clean energy but also create vital habitats for wildlife, offering key conservation opportunities for priority species.  We are very excited to be partnering with them and finding ways we can work together to revive our world. - Charlotte Martin-Taylor, RSPB

I like the company, if someone is going to install this, I think they would be best placed - they are young, ‘green’ and have links to wildlife projects. -Member of the community at a recent BESS project

[Lightrock] are ticking all the right boxes, and what [they] are doing is wonderful. - Parish Councillor at a previous BESS project