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Solar Selections brokers solar panel installations for 10 Greggs Bakeries locations across the UK

January 15, 2014
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The largest chain of bakeries in the UK has installed the equivalent of 1.28 megawatts (MW) of solar PV capacity on the roofs of 10 of its locations with the assistance of Solar Selections, who acted as tender manager for the project. The installations make use of Italian Power-One Aurora inverters and Chinese Trina solar panels. Bookmark on Delicious [...]

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2 issues that could change the trajectory of the UK’s solar PV industry

February 25, 2013
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The UK’s solar panel industry has entered what is widely believed to be a state of relative stability after over a year of turmoil during which generous government feed-in tariff subsidies were slashed erratically following significant drops in the cost of installing a solar system. Now looming on the horizon, however, are twin threats that [...]

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Increased reliance on gas could lead to UK power bill spikes, Ofgem chief warns

February 20, 2013
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The outgoing chief of the UK’s electricity and gas market regulator, Ofgem, has issued a warning about impending rises in the price of electricity and heating across the UK as the country’s reliance on imported gas as a fuel for power generation grows. The impending closure of nearly 10% of the UK’s electricity generation capacity [...]

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Bosch introduces energy storage solution as back-up for solar panels

February 18, 2013
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At over 125 years old, Germany’s Bosch is already a household name for its power tools, car parts, and other electronics; it even has a well-reputed solar panel division–Bosch Solar. The energy division of Bosch–Bosch Energy Tec–is now also presenting its own solution for energy storage at the Renewable Energy Exhibition EnR 2013 in Lyon, France [...]

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UK solar capacity now over 2GW

February 12, 2013

The UK has joined the club of nations to have installed more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, making it one of the top 10 solar PV markets in the world, according to NPD Solarbuzz’s Marketbuzz 2013 report. The UK installed even more solar PV capacity (965GW) in the year 2012 than [...]

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Security systems preventing solar panel theft at solar farms in UK

February 12, 2013
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Solar panel theft is a real issue in the UK. While the price of panels has come down considerably in the past few years, they are still a significant investment, and it would be painful for the owner to have this integral part of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system stolen from under their nose. Security [...]

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New MCS PV guide and solar system installation standard released

February 11, 2013
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The UK’s Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Working Group has released an updated installation guide for solar photovoltaic systems, as well as an accompanying updated national standard (MIS 3002). Solar PV system installers have 3 months (until 7 March 2013) to begin adhering to the updated standard. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post [...]

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Panasonic, Power-One join forces for energy storage

February 7, 2013
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Global electronics manufacturer Panasonic and the world’s 2nd largest inverter manufacturer Power-One have teamed up to develop energy storage systems for the US, European markets, and Japanese markets. Their storage solutions will be aimed at the residential, commercial, and utility markets in the USA and Europe, and commercial and utility-scale markets in Japan. Bookmark on Delicious [...]

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CIGS thin-film solar panels improving in efficiency

February 5, 2013
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Solar panels made using CIGS cell technology have been increasing in efficiency over the past few years. Although silicon-cell solar panels still dominate the residential solar PV market, a number of advances in CIGS cell efficiency promise a possible increase in the popularity of the technology. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook [...]

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V3Solar: Spinning solar cells keep cool, produce more power

January 31, 2013
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The image of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules that lives in the minds of most people is that of the ‘solar panel’: a flat, stationary device that absorbs sunlight and turns it into usable electricity. A new company, V3Solar, is aiming to upend this conception of solar PV technology, with spinning cones of solar photovoltaic material [...]

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Solar panels: Find the best price

January 31, 2013
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Trying to find the best price on solar panels? Many a price-conscious customer would opt to seek out the cheapest solar panels possible, but the cheapest price isn’t always the best price. It’s important to know what you’re looking for in a solar panel system before simply opting for the least-cost option. Bookmark on Delicious [...]

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4kW solar systems and smaller proving most popular in UK market

January 25, 2013
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Weekly figures detailing the number and size range of solar panel installations from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) paint a fascinatingly clear picture of where interest lies when it comes to installing a solar system. Systems whose rated capacity is 4 kilowatts-peak (kWp) or smaller dominate the UK solar market–out of the total 1,528 [...]

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The next stage in European solar power: A boom in subsidy-free solar?

January 23, 2013
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Europe has seen massive uptake of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the past few years. At the helm has been Germany, whose EEG legislation has paved the way for a world-leading rate of uptake for solar panels in the country. Others–Italy, Spain, and France, among others–are also doing well thanks to government support for renewables. All the [...]

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Germany aims to support solar energy storage

January 21, 2013
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The German government will begin giving support to the installations of energy storage systems for solar panels. Although the the affordability of installing a solar PV system has increased dramatically across the globe in just the last few years (and is lowest in Germany), the cost of storing power still remains prohibitively high. Germany’s push [...]

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New law would target aggressive solar system, energy efficiency sales tactics

January 17, 2013
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Government renewable energy consumer advocacy body YouGen has created a petition calling for an end to the high-pressure sales tactics used by some solar panel and energy efficiency companies in the UK, amongst others. Specifically, YouGen is calling calls for lawmakers to ban ‘on the day’ deals. The petition comes on the heels of a [...]

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Wales is a popular spot for solar panels, but still room for improvement

January 9, 2013
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Wales has proved to be the most popular country in the UK for solar power, but the differences in solar panel uptake between regions within Wales is stark, according to figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and analysis by Wales Online. Wales beats out England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland for the [...]

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2013 bodes well for solar projects as Buffet buys world’s largest solar PV plant

January 9, 2013
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The new year has started off with some more good news for the solar photovoltaics (PV) industry, with Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Solar buying SunPower‘s Antelope Valley Solar Projects (AVSP) for an amount between USD2 billion and 2.5 billion. AVSP is a multi-location development whose cumulative solar panel capacity will be 579 megawatts (MW) when all [...]

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UK investment in solar will safeguard against the rising cost of power

January 8, 2013

The cost of electricity has been rising throughout the UK, driving many to look into ways to cut power bills. In addition to investing in energy efficiency measures, an increasing number of homes and businesses are also opting to install solar PV systems to reduce their costs. Energy market analysts GlobalData are now saying that those who [...]

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Solar PV showed steady growth through 2012

January 7, 2013
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According to data released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), solar photovoltaics (PV) system capacity across the UK showed steady growth in the first 9 months of the year. There is now over 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar capacity in the UK–more than triple the 489 megawatt (MW) figure of the [...]

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Solar panels recognised as ‘key’ for UK energy future: DECC

January 4, 2013
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The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has dubbed solar photovoltaics (PV) a ‘key technology’ in the UK’s future power mix in its updated Renewable Energy Roadmap released at the end of December 2012. DECC’s official recognition of solar power’s importance here has been a cause for celebration among those in the solar industry [...]

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