Many buildings in the UK are often overlooked in terms of their suitability for solar photovoltaics as they are placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, or classed as a ‘listed building’. However, The Greener Group, a Chester based solar installer, has completed a groundbreaking solar photovoltaic installation on a listed building. It is one of the first installations of its kind in the country.
An initial proposal for a 4kWp roof-mounted solar PV system was quickly rejected by Chester Council for being intrusive and impacting the surrounding area. A second proposal which involved re-slating the old damaged roof and incorporating Solarcentury’s C21e solar electric slates was accepted in July.
Elliot Parkhouse, Managing Director, The Greener Group said: “Samples of the C21e slate, along with a full listed building application, were given to the local planning office and the consent was passed in the Summer. With so many listed buildings in the Chester area, we’re keen to let the owners of these fantastic properties know that they needn’t be left out when it comes to solar.”
Martin White, Head of Products and Services at Solarcentury said: “Over four million homes in the UK have slate roofs, until now their options for going solar were limited to bolt-on modules or semi-integrated systems requiring specialist installation. With our new universal C21e slate, designed to fit straight out of the box, any slate roof can now benefit from going solar, without compromising the country’s roofscape.”
The Greener Group installed a 3kWp system consisting of 66 C21e slates, producing 2,500kWh annually.
