Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched a second phase of the successful Solar Together London group buying scheme, expanding it to a further eight boroughs. The news was revealed as part of the capital’s Solar Action Plan, published today, which reiterates the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) solar strategy amidst further calls for government to bring forward national policy. London’s first group purchasing scheme was launched in March this year, with Solarcentury selected as the preferred installer two months later. Nearly 4,000 homes registered their interest in the scheme which ultimately resulted in discounts of around 35% on the market average. And now Sadiq Khan is keen to replicate that success in a second phase. Eight additional boroughs – Camden, Haringey, Havering, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Newham, Waltham Forest and Westminster – will join the original four of Brent, Ealing, Merton and Sutton, in a second phase of auctions which launched earlier today. The mayor’s Solar Action Plan reiterates a target of installing 2GW of solar PV in the Greater London area by 2050, with an interim target of 1GW by 2030.
Solar Power Portal 29th June 2018 read more »
The UK solar and storage markets are on the brink of overcoming a deployment roadblock, according to a number of vendors actively monitoring the territory. Deployment of solar has reportedly halved in the UK as support has waned and the economics of post-subsidy projects remain on a knife-edge. Uncertainty around the future of the minimum import price (MIP) on modules and cells plus the macro-scale questions around Brexit have left the industry in limbo. Despite this, building regulations, system cost efficiencies, new business models and the addition of energy storage mean the industry is ready for a fresh phase of deployment. On the energy storage front, projected deployment has been slower to ramp than thought.
Solar Power Portal 29th June 2018 read more »
