The Transition initiativein Lewes raised more than £350,000 in July to build their own community-owned solar power station, the first of its kind. The 98 kW solar array consists of 445 solar PV panels and was fitted to the top of a local brewery, Harvey’s. The money was raised in just two months by local [...]
New plans have been approved for Blackfriars Bridge in London to fit 4,400 solar panels across the roof of the station. The panels cover in total, will be 6000 m2 London’s largest solar array and the world’s largest solar bridge. The bridge is estimated by the company overseeing it, Solarcentury, to produce 900,000kWh per year [...]
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton and Hove has made an appeal this week for more to be done about the ignored issue of pollution in the UK. She condemned the government for continued inaction, despite a law suit being filed against us by the Europ ean Commission. Lucas revealed we are in the [...]
It is commonly believed that a major problem with solar panels is that they consume such a significant amount of energy in their manufacture that the energy they produce is negligible in comparison. So how much energy does it take to make a solar panel and is it still worth it considering how much energy [...]
Of the two different types of solar panel on the market, thermal (for hot water) and photovoltaic or PV (for electricity) how can a householder choose which is best? Currently a feed-in tariff (FIT) exists in the UK for PV panels where the government will pay up to 43.3p per kWh of electricity produced, depending [...]
Some of the most commonly held misconceptions about solar energy are that solar panels are too expensive, do not work in cloudy weather and that they are unreliable. However, it will now be explained why this is not in fact the case. Cost: The issue of cost speaks for itself as it is now possible [...]
Concerns have been expressed recently about pollution from solar panels both during the manufacturing process and when they reach the end of their usable lives. The manufacture of panels frequently involves toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury as well as producing CO2. However, a recent study found that due to the heavy [...]
Solar panels are a great way to produce environmentally friendly renewable energy and save money at the same time. Most traditional forms of electricity generation work by burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil. These fuels are getting more expensive all the time and also emit large amounts of carbon dioxide gas, a major [...]
There are many ways to mount solar panels and the method used will depend on where you are situating them. Most domestic solar panels are mounted on top of the existing roof, but they can also form part of the roof itself, be mounted on the side of a building or on a flat roof, [...]
Solar technology is rapidly advancing, with new innovations constantly being developed. Micro-inverters and ‘hairy’ solar panels could greatly increase the efficiency of solar PV systems, and there are even plans to locate solar stations in space to capture the maximum amount of light possible. Micro-inverters Solar panels rely on light to produce electricity, meaning that [...]
