Exclusive: Tesco plotting UK superstore solar rollout programme
Tesco is planning a major rollout of solar on the roofs of its stores in the UK, Solar Power Portal can reveal.
Storage
New start-up energy supplier launches solar-powered, Uber-inspired domestic energy offering
A new start-up energy supplier is aiming to become the ‘Uber of electricity’ by turning homes into personal power stations.
BEIS eyeing relaxed planning conditions for co-located storage sites
The government is seeking to remove a significant hurdle for utility-scale co-located storage sites, enabling projects with combined capacities in excess of 50MW to proceed without requiring government consent.
Shell partners Anesco for UK battery storage
Anesco and Shell’s New Energies division are to partner on a utility-scale battery storage project in Norfolk.
Solar and storage possess ‘mutually beneficial interaction’ in Capacity Market, National Grid says
Solar and storage technologies would possess a “mutually beneficial interaction” in the Capacity Market (CM) should renewables be introduced into the mechanism, National Grid has said.
Ireland’s solar-plus-storage VPP trial to get underway with January installs
The first domestic battery storage installations under the StoreNet project are to complete before the end of this month in what’s a first of its kind for Ireland.
Premier Inn partners with E.On for UK’s first battery-powered hotel
Premier Inn has installed a 100kW lithium ion battery at its Gyle at Edinburgh Park hotel in the Scottish capital, claiming it to be the first battery-powered hotel in the UK.
Solar stories of 2018, part four: Claire Perry’s U-turn and subsequent U-U-turn
We conclude our recap of the most significant stories of 2018 for UK solar, remembering what happened throughout October, November and December. Energy minister Claire Perry, predictably, features heavily.
Solar stories of 2018, part two: Solar generation records fall and megawatt-scale carports rise
We continue our recap of the most significant stories of the year, today looking back at April, May and June when multi-megawatt solar carports were all the rage and PV generation records tumbled.
Export tariff closure to reduce small-scale renewables deployment to just 50MW per year
The government’s decision to cut the export tariff to new applicants could reduce deployment of small-scale solar to as low as 40MW per year, an impact assessment has concluded.
Solar stories of 2018, part one: Nissan enters the home solar market as business rates loom large
Over the course of this week Solar Power Portal will look back at some of the biggest news stories of 2018, starting with today’s re-cap of the first three months of the year.
Northumbrian Water to pilot battery storage under Argonaut Power deal
Water utility Northumbrian Water is to pilot the use of battery storage units at a number of its sites under a new partnership with developer Argonaut Power.
Ofgem update clarifies deemed export tariff and storage confusion
An updated technical guide to co-locating renewables and battery storage has clarified previously conflicting guidance on the matter, removing barriers and potentially unlocking the “tremendous potential” of solar homes.
Expanded Little Crow Solar Farm edges closer to DCO as second consultation phase kicks off
Plans for Little Crow Solar Farm, the second PV project seeking a Development Consent Order, have edged closer this week on the back of developer INRG revising upwards the site’s planned capacity.
EDF Energy targets solar homes with discounted battery offer
EDF Energy is to target the UK’s solar households with a discounted offer of battery units from Powervault in exchange for them signing up to a ten year contract allowing the supplier to use the storage capacity in the energy services market.
Solar to be hardest hit by Ofgem plans for fixed residual charges, Embedded Benefits axe
Solar will face the “greatest potential impact” from new proposals by Ofgem to apply fixed residual charges to all final demand users and end the Embedded Benefits for smaller generators under its Targeted Charging Review (TCR).