renewables

Solar Media’s Liam Stoker and Andy Colthorpe return for episode three of the Solar Media Podcast, taking an extensive look at Britain’s net zero legislation. Is 2050 ambitious enough? Is 2025 too ambitious? What’s the sweet spot, and what’s needed for the country to be in with a chance of attaining it?

Norway’s state-owned power giant Statkraft has entered Ireland’s nascent solar market with the acquisition of a 320MW portfolio of utility-scale assets.

Supermarket giant Tesco has announced a major green electricity project, including the installation of solar panels on 187 of its sites covering 335,000m2.

The UK’s solar capacity would need to nearly triple to 35GW to decarbonise by 2030, a report into the fastest path to decarbonisation over the next decade has found.

While a lot of uncertainty still remains with regards to renewables after Brexit, the growth of subsidy free solar, along with net zero and other targets enshrined in UK law, and the World Trade Organisations (WTO) arrangements should reassure the solar industry. But concerns over imports, skilled staff and growing costs remain.

A landmark project aimed at piloting the powering of Britain’s railways with on-site solar was amongst the winners of this year’s Community Energy Awards.

Flexibility aggregator Limejump has signed a short-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Bluefield Solar Income Fund. Limejump will manage the power sale for four solar farms owned by Bluefield, using its Virtual Power Platform (VPP).

US company Solar Alliance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Empire Cinemas, who own Odeon and Cineworld. The project will ultimately generate 2.8MW on the cinema sites, helping the company lower its carbon emission.

Solar power, along with wind and storage capacity, will have to greatly increase if the UK is to meet its net zero emissions by 2050 goal, according to analysis by Aurora Energy Research.

Exports of solar PV and battery storage to GB distribution networks have seen a “exponential” increase, according to new data from ElectraLink and the Renewable Energy Association (REA).