Feature

Big is beautiful

Cumbria’s largest commercial solar PV system at Lakeland Livestock Mart, Cockermouth, benefit from new  technology.

Sundog Energy says its latest commercial installation at Mitchell’s Lakeland Livestock Mart, Cockermouth, is not only the largest commercial system in Cumbria but is also the first solar PV installation in Europe to benefit from an innovative mounting system called Trinamount. The system, from solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar, has been designed to significantly speed up the installation time of Trina’s solar PV panels by reducing the number of parts and eliminating the need for traditional mounting rails.

The 50kWp retro-fit installation comprises 212 Trina Solar high efficiency PV modules mounted on a pitched steel roof. The system will provide enough renewable energy to light and power Mitchell’s business during the day with surplus power being exported and sold to the national grid.  

According to Martin Cotterell, founder and technical director of Sundog, and who led the installation team on site from start to finish: “We had a race against time in very testing weather conditions to complete this landmark installation before the December 12, deadline for the Feed-in Tariff, so we were really able to put the new mounting system through its paces and appreciate the very significant benefits it brings.”

Bill Roberts, managing director of Sundog commented: “The recently announced reduction in solar subsidies means that we are adopting innovative ways to reduce installation times and therefore costs for our customers and the installers we supply.   We believe that this new system will be quickly taken up by installers around the UK.”