Solar PV 8

News

Canadian Solar announces regional solar projects

Canadian Solar today announced that it has been working with solar project developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy Limited, in the completion of four solar power plants throughout England. The new ground mounted PV plants were built in Cornwall (Bodmin), Lincolnshire (Spalding) and Somerset (Taunton), with a combined capacity of 6.4 MW.

News

Forest Green Rovers top the league for sustainability

The installation of a 46.92kW Photovoltaic system onto a terrace roof of Forest Green Rovers FC is helping the Conference League team reduce its carbon footprint and earn an annual income for the Sustainability in Sport foundation.

News

Making an impression

Impressionist and green campaigner, Alistair McGowan will be opening Practical Installer for Plumb Center at Ecobuild on 20 March.

Product

Master International’s one-stop shop

Master International, the parent company of Master Distributors, a distributor of electromechanical, interconnect and passive components, announces the launching of a dedicated solar photovoltaic division with its marketing engine at www.solarmasterdirect.com. Solar Master Direct offers product for all stages of the solar installation process, including PV modules, solar inverters, racking systems, cables and tools necessary for installation. The product lines carried are ideal for residential and small commercial installation projects. 

News

Caplor lauch Community Solar Initiative

Leading renewable energy company Caplor Energy has this month launched a new scheme to support local groups keen to install solar energy systems on community buildings.

News

European renewable energy jobs pass million mark

The European renewable energy industry now maintains more than one million jobs as the latest official figures show employment figures in the sector have increased by a quarter in a year.

Feature

Wise words

It’s all very well saying more installers need to get into installing renewable technologies, but for many it remains a leap into the dark.  Ian Stares, product group manager for renewables and green energy products at PTS, says there are four key steps installers must take before they take the plunge.

News

Solarcentury quits BPVA over Feed-in Tariff

Solarcentury has quit the British Photovoltaic Association in a row over its support for the government’s appeal bid on the Feed-in Tariff cuts.

News

Researchers look to drive down price of solar cells

The cost of a solar cell is given per unit of peak electrical power. Manufacturing costs necessarily include the cost of energy required for manufacture. Solar power must become more efficient and less expensive to compete with energy produced by fossil fuels, reports ENN.com.

News

Excellence award first for Cheshire company

Cheshire-based JPCS has become the first in its sector to receive a UK Excellence Award from the British Quality Foundation for its products and services.

News

Antaris Solar selected for NICEIC affinity partnership

Antaris Solar, solar technology provider with headquarters in Germany, has been selected as the PV affinity partner by NICEIC. The partnership brings together German quality with the standards of UK’s leading voluntary body for electrical installation matters.

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.

News

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.

News

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.

Feature

Skills for sustainable growth

In order to meet the demands of the Climate Change Act, installers need to gain the knowledge, skills and certification to work with renewable technologies. Simon Allan, director of renewables,  explains what this means for the industry and how materials suppliers such as Plumb Center are perfectly placed to be a key reference, information and training source. The carbon targets set by the Climate Change Act will make some extraordinary demands on the construction industry, not only to deliver very low impact new buildings but to substantially refurbish the vast majority our 26 million dwellings and the 2.5 million non-domestic buildings.

Feature

Minority report

There won’t be many readers of REI that haven’t cast their eyes over the recent Which? report which highlighted certain aspects of the way solar PV is sold. But how did the industry view the magazine’s findings? By Lu Rahman

Product

Less is more with Siliken

According to Siliken, using the SLK72M6L or the SLK72P6L means installing 20 per cent fewer modules to obtain the same power The company claims to have carried out another step forward in terms of research and development with these 280Wp modules. Efficiency is up to 15.7 per cent for the polycrystallines and up to 16 per cent for the monocrystallines. This high quality and reliability of the modules guarantees a quick return on the investment in any photovoltaic installation, either residential, industrial or on a solar farm, says the company.

Product

Surge protection devices preserve solar PV investment

Carlo Gavazzi has extended its solar energy portfolio with new surge protection devices that provide backup protection without internal fuses. The innovative DSF surge arrestors embody a special internal backup that ensures they remain safe at the end of varistor life, ensuring safe transient overvoltage protection for combiner boxes in photovoltaic systems.