Solar Media Staff

St. Modwen, the UK-based regeneration specialist, has been granted permission to build a 5MW array of solar panels at an old BP Chemicals works site in Port Talbot. The project, which is expected to cost £15 million, will generate enough clean electricity to power around 1,500 homes a year.

Six UK universities are currently combining forces to develop a portable battery pack for British soldiers that will be powered by solar energy. By replacing the currently-used device the forces’ power packs can be made up to 50% lighter.

The Government’s review of the feed-in tariffs is released this week and is awaited with a mixture of intrigue and dread. The potential effects on the fledgling solar industry in the UK have been well documented on these pages, but few seem to think that they will be positive.

Scotland is perhaps better known for its windy weather than for its radiant sunshine, but that’s no excuse for a poor microgeneration industry, is it? Well, the Scottish Government certainly doesn’t think so, which is why, in a bid to increase the uptake in renewable technologies, it has introduced a new green loan scheme.

Germany-based solar power and heating provider Wagner Solar has appointed Kamil Shah as Marketing Manager of its UK branch, where he will be responsible for setting up the marketing department and driving all promotion and communication activities in the UK. Shah joins Wagner Solar UK from Sanyo, where he was European Corporate Communications Manager.

UK Solar Provider Ltd has submitted full planning for a 95kWp rooftop solar system which will be developed on an agricultural farm in South Cambridgeshire, near Royston. This will be the company’s debut solar project in the UK.

Following the absolute devastation caused by the earthquake measuring magnitude 8.9 and the ensuing tsunami that shook Japan this weekend, the world has suddenly begun to turn its back on the nuclear power industry. Confounded at how the country’s reactors are adding such panic in the wake of a disaster which alone is the worst thing the country has dealt with since WW2, people are waking up to the fact that nuclear is not the way forward.

BKS Energy, located on the Isle of Wight, has become one of the first in the country to achieve planning permission to build a solar farm. The permission has been granted by the IOW Council to allow for the construction of a 5MW PV park on a 20 acre site containing 21,000 solar panels.

After weeks of yet more uncertainty the fast-track consultation on feed-in tariffs is expected to begin tomorrow. The review, which will more or less determine the future of the UK’s solar industry, has been met with mixed feelings since its disclosure on February 7th.

Marking its entrance into the UK, solar inverter specialist Kinglong New Energy (KLNE) has expressed the great success it experienced as a result of its appearance at the ecobuild exhibition in London. This was the first time KLNE had exhibited in the UK, and found that it housed a very promising solar energy market.