Large-Scale Solar

Power and automation giant ABB, has invested close to £1 million and signed a 10-year agreement with Imperial College London to support a new carbon capture pilot plant teaching facility located at the university’s central London campus.

In big news for the large-scale solar market, independent project developer TGC Renewables has begun work on a 2.9MW solar farm in Devon.

Kier Harlow, a joint venture company between Kier and Harlow Council, has joined forces with solar mapping firm, Bluesky to support an ambitious scheme to install solar panels on Council-owned properties in Essex.

Last week, Solar Power Portal reported the unfortunate story of Balby residents Dennis and Patricia Jennings, who were conned out of £1,500 by Yorkshire Solar Panels Ltd. The solar company secured the money as a deposit but failed to install any panels, before apparantly disappearing.

A Warwickshire resident has won the right to keep solar panels installed no his listed building after submitting a retrospective planning application.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has published the latest solar photovoltaic installation figures for 2012, which show that from April 1-15, just 1,293 solar PV installs were registered for the feed-in tariff scheme.

Consultancy firm McKinsley has published a wide-ranging report on solar photovoltaic technology which reveals that solar PV will reach grid-parity with coal and nuclear as soon as 2020.

A new solar-powered street bin is set to revolutionise the way in which Councils store and collect rubbish across the UK. Thousands of BigBelly Solar Powered Compactor Street bins have been rolled out across the country after six years of intensive trials.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has today published a report which recommends a raft of measures designed to mitigate the risks of fracking, after a comprehensive review determined that shale gas drilling caused minor earthquakes.

A community-based solar energy scheme in Bristol has opened its first share offer. Bristol Energy Cooperative is a local, community-owned social enterprise that aims to build and own renewable energy projects that will benefit the local region as well as produce financial returns for reinvestment on a ‘revolving fund’ model.