Guest Blog

Cleaning solar panels has been the subject of some debate, with some questioning the necessity for maintaining cleanliness by professional means. I freely admit that until recently, I shared the common misconception that panels are ‘self-cleaning’ but there is compelling evidence that the performance of your array, and therefore your income and energy savings will be seriously compromised if this element of maintenance is overlooked.

I have just returned from three days at Solar Energy UK (SEUK) and wanted to share some of the debate and feedback that came out of a session I chaired on each of the three days.

It’s one of the peculiarities of the UK solar market that whilst domestic installations and large ground-mount solar sectors are strong, the commercial rooftop market is significantly under performing. Joju Solar’s Dr Chris Jardine explores what can be done to boost commercial deployment.

Next week, the UK solar PV industry will meet at the NEC in Birmingham for what is set to be the most frenetic few days yet to confront the industry. And top of the to-do list for many will be acquiring rights for solar farm sites that could be potentially completed before 1 April 2015.

Martin Cotterell looks at the forthcoming IET Solar PV code of practice, how it relates to other PV installation standards and the impact on installers in the UK.

The problem with making decisions based on predictions of the future, is the closer the future gets, the more the quality of those forecasts is laid bare. Gareth Miller, principal consultant for Cornwall Energy explains what DECC’s revised forecasts mean for the country’s energy policy reforms.

Finlay Colville finds that mid-year softness, due in part to market uncertainty following the proposed ROC adjustments back in May 2014, has created a partial lull on ground-mount PV activity in the UK.

In anticipation of DECC going through with its proposal to scrap RO support, it’s not surprising that many in the ground mount community are seriously considering how they might bid for a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the first allocation round opening on 16 October this year.

Google Trends can be a valuable tool for solar companies looking to gather intelligence on consumers’ behaviour. Dan Castro outlines exactly how useful this tool can be for solar installers.

With Parliament back from the summer break, Westminster appears to have (finally!) gathered that there is currently quite a bit of hand wringing going on in the non-domestic solar power industry. A High Court case is usually a giveaway.