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The Covers story
Now established in the UK, Azur Solar has landed a significant contract with a timber and builders’ merchant for its solar PV systems
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Renewable solutions for sheltered housing and listed building schemes
Sheltered housing schemes, featuring renewable products from Grant UK, have been instrumental in helping Stroud District Council – winners of the 2010 Green Energy Award – with its green housing energy initiative.
The objective on both sheltered housing projects was to provide a renewable solution to meet the needs of the communal areas, in terms of hot water supply and heating.
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Testo deals are too good to miss
Plumb Center and Parts Center are offering deals on Testo flue gas analysers to their customers until February 2012 – and six lucky installers will also scoop a thermal imaging camera worth over £1,800.
Within the UK there are around 120,000 registered gas service engineers but only 45,000 currently use analysers.
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Predicting performance from Nu-Heat
The new MCS Microgeneration Installation Standard (MIS 3005) has been released. It requires heat pump systems to be at least 100 per cent sized for a property for 99 per cent of the heating season. It also requires systems to be designed to a target external design temperature of between approximately -1°C and -4°C, depending where the property is located in the UK. This means the heat pump should be able to almost entirely heat the house without electric or other back up, under all but the most extreme conditions
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Microgeneration sees significant increase in take up in past year
Introduction of Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) proves popular for developers
The rate of growth in microgeneration continues to increase with the capacity and number of installations rising significantly across the UK. In contrast to ongoing cautious and gloomy economic forecasting in the national economy, the growth in micro-generation capacity has been 400% since the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) was launched in April 2010. Solar PV has led the way with an increase of 900% and wind and hydro have doubled, according to new figures released by leading energy and environmental consultancy AEA.
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Yorkshire entrepreneurs launch £100, solar power business
Two Yorkshire entrepreneurs, Philip Taylor and Gary Douglas, are planning to invest £100 million and create 14 new jobs over the next two years in a new company which aims to become one of the UK’s leading providers of renewable energy generation systems.
Oakapple Renewable Energy (OAREL) will initially be generating power through the installation of free solar panels, but longer term it aims to develop other forms of renewable energy generation including wind power and anaerobic digestion systems.
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Free hands-on training
Solar PV test specialist Seaward Solar is hosting a series of free hands-on training courses across the country to help installers to fully understand the electrical testing requirements of solar PV systems.
The courses are designed to give installers the practical hands-on experience required to build confidence and complete the required commissioning tests in a comprehensive and efficient way.
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Niche player confirmed as Feed-in Tariff leader
Independent energy company SmartestEnergy has paid out more to renewable generators under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) than any other supplier during the first year of the scheme, according to newly released figures.
Ofgem statistics for the final quarter of the financial year take the total paid by SmartestEnergy during 2010/11 to £1.75m, over £200,000 more than it’s nearest competitor.
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Scientists lay out plans for efficient solar energy harvesting
Solar power could be harvested more efficiently and transported over long distances using tiny molecular circuits, according to research inspired by new insights into natural photosynthesis.
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Renewables on tour
This September, the Renewables Roadshow, powered by Plumb Center kicks off in Bolton. A series of events is lined up across the country throughout that month.
Visitors to the event will have the opportunity to interact with dozens of exhibiting manufacturers, merchants and professional bodies and there will be four theatres designed to simplify technologies and training.
Further Reading
Feature
Photovoltaics and Fire: Separating fact from fiction
While this technology introduces new and different hazards for fire fighters, they are able to handle it with proper training and understanding. The risk of a roof or home catching fire because of a solar photovoltaic power installation is very unlikely. Having said that the proliferation of solar panels as a renewable energy tool is gaining significant momentum and market penetration. Firefighters must understand the particular hazards they face when fighting a fire in a PV-equipped structure, which are primarily from tripping on conduits and electrical shocks, as even with very little exposure to light PV modules are still electrified and this includes bright moonlight or street lighting. From a fire service and rescue perspective, as with any structural fire attack, it’s best for the fire fighters to be aware that a solar power system exists on the building.
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Krannich Solar announces new support offer
As part of Krannich Solar’s aim to become established as UK brand leader, the company are developing a range of practical initiatives to support installers as they, in turn, seek to grown their own businesses. The first of these initiatives is a three-tiered support plan for installers competing for tenders from either local government or organisations such as housing associations, schools etc.
Tier One
Krannich Solar UK has commissioned Carolyn Roberson Consulting (CRC) to produce an on-line brochure with practical advice to help anyone tendering for contracts understand any jargon, get to know what organisations are seeking – what turns them on – and gain a “competitive advantage” over any competitors.
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Kingspan named ‘renewable supplier of the year’
Kingspan Renewables has scooped the Renewable Supplier of the Year award at the Plumb Center and Parts Center National Supplier Conference; an annual event recognising loyalty and excellence in service amongst their market-leading suppliers.
The award was presented by the conference’s guest speaker, England rugby star Austin Healey, and was collected by Kingspan Renewables managing director, Cameron Holroyd who commented: “We are very proud to have been recognised as a lead supplier in what is such an important growth sector. This further marks our commitment to delivering top-of-the-range renewable heating and hot water solutions that are custom-designed to suit each application and deliver the best results for distributors, installers and end-users alike.”
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Industry seal of approval for Solarlec
Lancashire solar energy company Solarlec got the thumbs up from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme in its annual review this week.
ELECSA carried out a full assessment at Solarlec’s premises on behalf of the MCS and confirmed the company’s status as an official provider of solar PV panel systems for another 12 months.
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Homeowners could make over £32,000 with solar says new website
According to Our Solar Britain, its energy calculator highlights homeowners’ savings and Feed-in Tariff revenues from solar installation.
The average homeowner in the United Kingdom could save £32,000 – over £1,200 per year – through the installation of solar panels according to a new savings calculator provided by the Our Solar Britain initiative. Located at oursolarbritain.co.uk, the consumer campaign’s energy calculator combines estimated savings on energy bills with potential financial gains from the government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) to give users an idea of the money they can make through adopting renewable energy over a 25 year period. An average home in the UK will generate 2850kW per year, some of which can also be sold back to the National Grid through the FiT incentives.
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Food for thought
International law firm Burlingtons Legal LLP announced today that it has successfully advised Fairfield Bio Energy, a joint venture between Bio Group and British Gas, on the opening of a £5 million plant in Stockport that will turn food waste into gas for heating the home. The groundbreaking joint venture is one of the first projects being purpose-built from scratch, under the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), and the second project that Deborah Mills has been instructed by Bio Group .
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Finance deal for A Shade Greener
GE Capital has agreed a £20m financing deal with free solar panel installer, A Shade Greener , helping the Yorkshire-based start-up company install 3.3kWp Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems on an additional 2,000 homes, as it continues to expand its operations across the local regions.
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Renewables installer of the Year
Ground Heat Installations was recently named overall renewables installer of the Year at the inaugural Renewables Awards.
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Farmer praises PV
A Spalding farmer is generating renewable energy following Lark Energy’s installation of a 63 kWp PV solar power system.
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Exclusive NAPIT Membership via Plumb Center
NAPIT, the government-approved register holder for more than 8,500 registered installers, has joined forces with Plumb Center to offer discounted membership to customers of the national heating and plumbing specialist.
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Councillors accused of ignorance in wind turbine planning row
Councillors have been branded ‘ignorant’ after going against the advice of their own planners and refusing an application for a wind turbine.
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Eaton beats the Feed-in Tariff deadline!
Working to very tight timescales to ensure completion before changes to the Feed-In Tariff (FiT) for solar PV installations over 50kW were implemented; Eaton’s Electrical Sector has designed, manufactured and supplied comprehensive turnkey BoS (Balance of System) solutions for major solar energy parks at Howbery Park in Oxfordshire, Wheal Jane in Cornwall and at a farm site in Cambridgeshire. These sites were developed by Lightsource Renewable Energy and funded by Octopus Investments and between them, these new solar parks have a total generating capacity of 7.2MWp.
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Double whammy for EOS
EOS Energy, part of the Alumet Group, had a double celebration at the inaugural Renewable Awards in front of 800 industry professionals at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.
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Colexon Energy thin film PV project
Colexon Energy, a solar power engineering and distribution company has announced orders for 5,000 First Solar thin-film panels from installers in Cornwall and Oxford.
The black, frameless modules manufactured by First Solar are becoming very popular with customers, thanks to their excellent energy output characteristics, low production costs, end-of-life recycling programme and aesthetic appeal. The panels using a thin layer of cadmium telluride on glass have a superior energy output at high temperatures and under low light conditions.