A solar plane which can stay aloft for weeks at a time is to be manufactured by Airbus in the UK. The unmanned craft flies high in the atmosphere to avoid commercial air traffic and adverse weather. Known as the Zephyr, its remote-sensing potential has already seen the UK MoD invest, but Airbus also hope to develop the craft as a communications platform. The Zephyr will now begin industrial production in Farnborough, after several years of testing.
BBC 16th July 2018 read more »
Doncaster Rovers to save £1 million from subsidy-free PPA install. One of the first high profile subsidy-free commercial installs has been completed at the Keepmoat Stadium, home to Doncaster Rovers Football Club, with low technology costs and public sector backing showing that solar has a strong future post-feed-in tariff (FiT). Offering 100% self-consumption, the new array is predicated on a power purchase agreement with the football club, which will now pay a unit price of £0.085 compared to the almost £0.11 it was paying previously. Speaking to Solar Power Portal last week, Burrows went on to say that despite FiTs coming to an end in March 2019, the Keepmoat Stadium install is ‘proof of concept’ that subsidy-free projects are already possible. However, they will likely require public sector backing in order to be successful.
Solar Power Portal 16th July 2018 read more »
