Largest Commercial UK PV Project

Back in the month of December 2010, Ofgem claimed that no industrial installations had been made in the UK, although solar energy has become the most installed form of renewable energy in the country within the last 5 years. In the UK, domestic installations represent the largest number of installations compared to industrial installations that are less spread. 

A 1.16 Megawatt commercial solar project is being installed in Somerset representing an important investment over the last nine months, which is the biggest commercial photovoltaic installation in England so far. The project made viable thanks to the new “feed-in” tariff that brings an income for the power produced, is being commissioned in February. Electricity from Solar power will be created through high efficiency photovoltaic modules installed partly on-roof and on-ground.  This on-going project demonstrates how current companies feel concerned about climate change, and how people trust renewable energies, knowing that these installations aim to compensate gas emissions. 

This large-scale project is showing the way to an emerging industry, and a perfect case study to future “green electricity suppliers”. Specialists are looking at this large project as a reference in the UK, and encouraging investors or industrials to convert their current power source in a greener and safer way. This milestone will bring huge benefits to observers who are overlooking the PV market and who will be convincing reluctant people that PV industry is a viable and beneficial source of power on a long-term basis, like in Germany or Italy. 

The first step has been to carry out the initial feasibility studies required for the project. The City Council has easily granted planning permission to our main partner, Solar SW, who has been responsible for the design and the development, using modules from the PV manufacturer A-SUN.  The installation will aim to power partly the company during daytime enabling to maximize the financial benefit of the FIT knowing that the onsite electricity requires a large amount per annum. An estimated 1,125,000kWh output will be produced each year by the photovoltaic system. Thus, the owner will be able to use a large portion of the generated power onsite for its own company, and to inject the balance into the grid. 

It took approximately nine months since the idea came up to complete it. Through all the way, all the partners managed to demonstrate that it has been done everything possible to minimize carbon emissions. It has been estimated that the installation will save 550 tonnes of carbon each year. 

A-SUN believes in renewable energy and provides the latest technology of Mono and Polycrystalline Silicon modules all around the country. The company delivers PV Modules Certified (MCS) with a manufacturer warranty on product and also for 25 years on efficiency. A-SUN is very active in United-Kingdom to create awareness to investors and companies on photovoltaic's benefits, which perfectly respect the environment while being considered as a good investment. A-SUN aims to be an important actor thanks to its association with local technical and distribution partners. 

The photovoltaic panels, which represent the largest part of the cost of installation, weigh 15 Kg each, representing a total of 30 tonnes, well within the loading capacity of the roof. These MCS certified panels coming from A-SUN ISO-certified factory are made from selected and reliable components under the strictest quality control guidelines and under the technical specifications required by European Standards. With an outstanding efficiency of 149W/ m2, those A-SUN 190Watt Monocrystalline panels will optimize the output of the system in order to achieve very efficient tasks on a long term. They have been delivered with a manufacturer warranty on product and a 25 years warranty on efficiency backed all the way by well renowned Insurance Company in Europe. 

The mounting system has been specifically designed for asbestos barn roofs and manufactured in England. The first phase has comprised the installation of 2,000panels on roof with a combined capacity of around 380Kwp, covering 2,850m2. Thanks to its perfect roof orientation (SW/NE) our partner is benefiting from the greatest output the panels can deliver. The following phase comprised the ground-mounted 4,100 panels for a total covered surface of 2 Hectares. A meter to record generation and usage has been installed so that it can be seen precisely what is going on, helping the owner budgeting the net income.