Engensa, a UK based solar company recently installed the UK’s first micro-converter system – a radical new technology that enables millions of otherwise unsuitable roofs to be used for solar PV by eliminating many of the problems associated with shading.

As thousands of families each month install solar PV systems, the crucial role of the inverter – the nerve centre of any system – is coming under increasing scrutiny.

A standard inverter has two distinct roles: the first is to convert the DC current produced by the panels into AC current that can be used in the home.  The second, crucially important, role is to manage the output of each of the panels and this is where traditional inverters can struggle.  The problems come about when even a small part of the installation is shaded by a tree or a nearby building.  Solar cells are essentially large semi-conductor diodes (similar to computer chips) which convert sunlight into electricity and are connected together to make a panel.  When even a single cell within a panel is shaded it limits the current that can flow in the whole system, because with a normal inverter the solar panels are connected in series.  This means that with a regular inverter the entire system performs to the standard of the weakest panel.

As the snows fell before Christmas, Engensa installed the UK’s first ever micro-converter – a radically different kind of solution manufactured by SolarEdge, an Israeli based leader in PV power optimization.

Instead of having a single inverter, the SolarEdge system is made up of multiple PowerBoxes, which sit under each solar panel and maximise the power of each individual panel and communicating this to a central inverter across the existing power lines.  In addition, PowerBoxes maintain a fixed DC string voltage, allowing optimal efficiency of the SolarEdge PV inverter at all times and enabling a significant increase in the amount of electricity generated over the lifetime of the system.

According to Dr. Toby Ferenczi, Engensa CTO, it is ‘the UK’s first of a kind installation with distributed power harvesting.  In plain English that means you get more energy output and greater PV monitoring capability compared with a conventional solar PV system because each panel is controlled separately.’  According to experts at Engensa, this new technology means that the impact of shadows falling on the panels is greatly reduced because only the output of the shaded panels are affected, rather than the whole system.  It also means you can install panels in different orientations giving much greater flexibility when designing the system.  A third benefit is that system owners have much greater insight into how their system is performing since it allows the output of each individual panel to be monitored in real-time, even from an iPhone.

‘SolarEdge’s product is a breakthrough that we have been waiting for,’ says Dr Ferenczi.    ‘Our focus, in the increasingly competitive solar market, is to provide our customers with the best technological innovations from around the world and as part of this commitment we are delighted to have installed the first SolarEdge system in the UK.’

Since our last article on Solar farms the market has moved forward at an incredible pace. In June and July of this year the acreage value being offered for land rental was around £500-1000 per acre for a 25 year period.

As the time to build out the sites has reduced and the governments March 2012 date coming closer for the reduction in tariffs companies have become increasingly competitive in there offers and institutional investors have had to re-assess their potential returns in order to secure site in this green energy land grab. I have heard companies saying the increases that took 8 years in Wind turbine sites have happened in a few months in solar farm land.

So what is the current land value for a 5MW farm site? Usually between (25-30 acres). Companies are now offering between £50k-70k per annum. This is a huge and exciting step forward, it gives farmers a chance for a true long term income which in some cases will be life changing.

The only risk now is that of time-scales, planning has to be submitted over the next couple of months to have any chance of a site receiving the largest FIT. Once the opportunity for the full FIT is lost companies will again drop the prices they can offer and the land owners who have been sitting on the fence will have missed out.

It is still key that you speak with a company who can demonstrate proof of funding, experience in renewable energy planning applications and partners in place to build out and maintain the site.

If you have suitable land:

• 25-40 Acres
• Flat or South facing,
• Not overlooked,
• Grazing or low level agricultural land,
• Close to a substation or power lines

and you would like your site assessed for potential solar development email me at elliot@solarfeedintariff.co.uk.

Solar Farm Land Required

Are you a land owner in the South of England?

We are looking for land that has the following requirements in order to build Solar Farms in the U.K and to start moving towards a greener Britain.

Basic Site Specification for Solar PV, UK

Size 5 – 40 hectares

Tenure: Freehold or long-term (25years minimum) leasehold

Orientation: Level ground or south facing angled, south of Birmingham

Electrical connection: Close proximity to any line to export the electricity generated is good. A 33kV line, or above would be preferable for larger sites

Shading: Avoid sites surrounded by shading from trees, buildings, terrain

Neighboring properties: No specific requirements, but large energy consumers who would directly purchase electricity generated may help economics.

Planning: No specific requirements, but avoid areas where adverse visual impact will lead to objections

Access: Vehicular access required for construction and O&M

Suggested sites: Brownfield development sites, former airfields, public sector landholdings, private landowners, former mining areas, industrial land, etc

If you believe you have a site we may be interested in please contact elliot@solarfeedintariff.co.uk

A poll released this ahead of the World Climate Day on Friday revealed that the British public has a keen concern regarding action to tackle climate change. The poll, carried out by Christian Aid illustrates a general consensus of concern and awareness of government policies with regards to matters concerning meeting climate change targets.

With the UK government passing the Energy Act and establishing the Department of Energy and Climate Change, they have taken important steps to both meet their climate change objectives and revitalise the economy through the nurturing of a new green economy. Certainly, with the European elections at the fore, many of the electorate are taking a much closer look at the green policies of prospective political parties. Indeed, the results of the survey were thus,

·          77 per cent believe the UK government ought to do more to reduce carbon emissions

·          57 per cent say a political party’s climate policies would influence how they vote

·          70 per cent want the UK government to take a leading role in international climate change negotiations

·          90 per cent have taken steps to reduce their own carbon emissions

With these results in mind, the importance of recent climate change legislation affecting the solar industry will be even more in focus. The feed-in tariff provisions set out in last years Energy Act will become a reality next year as a mechanism designed to kick start investment in the fledgling industry.

With the UK government going through a consultancy process to determine the optimum tariff structure to energise the much hyped green economy, the YouGov report findings such as those above will offer a stark reminder that the public are now fully aware of the importance of government action in determining the success or failure of the UK solar industry.