PV

This summer Hamish Janson installed 100 solar modules at his farm in Newton Valence with the help of Godalming-based leasing experts, Reality Finance Solutions.

Sanitov Studios is a design think tank charged with developing sustainable urban designs. The think tank’s latest project was inspired by an ambition to not only develop one of the most sustainable homes in London, but also develop one of the most affordable.

In a nutshell, microinverters convert direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) for the grid directly from each individual solar panel, rather than through a central string inverter system, increasing the productivity, reliability and ease of installation of solar systems. The idea is not a new one, but for decades microinverter technology struggled to get off the ground.

Bradford Cathedral has become the first cathedral in the UK to generate its own electricity from the sun, thanks to a solar system installed by Cumbria-based solar specialists, Sundog Energy.

The newly-introduced feed-in tariff (FiT) degression model means that, yet again, the amount of money a household gets for each kWh of solar energy they put back in the utility grid has declined. From November 2012, systems smaller than 4kWp will only receive 15.44p/kWh.

Truro School in Cornwall now hosts one of the largest on-roof solar PV arrays installed in the country.

Burgess Hill-based Oskomera Solar Power Solutions UK Ltd has completed a series of ground-mounted solar parks across Devon. The three solar parks total 3.5MW of solar capacity that will significantly help cut the county’s carbon footprint.

Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre in Sheffield is home to the first European application of Trina Solar’s newly-launched flat-roof solar PV mounting system Trinamount III.

The small village of Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire is now home to the UK’s first solar-powered waste treatment plant after Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd joined forces with Solarcentury to install a 5MW solar park.

Dartford-based solar installer, Enevis, faced a unique set of problems when installing a major solar PV array at private medical insurance group AXA PPP’s Tunbridge Wells offices. The tall, town centre office block only allowed limited access to the roof through an enclosed central courtyard.