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Large scale solar installations go ahead |
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13 Aug 2012, 9:51 PM
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The Bristol Area Solar Installers Co-operative (BASIC) has begun the installation of the first solar panels in its innovative Lockleaze ‘Streets of Solar’ scheme. The solar scheme marks the first of a potential 300 arrays to be installed across the Lockleaze area of Bristol.
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BASIC was formed when nine local solar installers came together in order to provide a platform for community investment across the Greater Bristol area. The co-op aims to install in excess of 750kWp of solar across the local area, including many schools and community buildings. Continuing the co-op’s local focus, an important facet of he group’s ethos is that local jobs are retained through using local suppliers and sub-contractors whenever possible.
It had been feared that new changes to the feed-in tariff, which limit community installation schemes to 90 percent of the available tariff rate, would severely restrict community installations. However, BASIC’s rollout of solar shows that some of the industry’s fears may be unfounded.
Meanwhile the installation of thousands of solar arrays across Wrexham makes this one of the largest council-led solar schemes in the UK. The £15 million project will see Wrexham become the country’s top authority for reducing carbon emissions and in the top ten percentile for the whole of the UK.
Around 5MW of capacity has been installed across 3,000 properties, including more than 150 individual flats. The council estimates that those properties fitted with solar could realise annual savings of between £75-£250 per year on their electricity bills. The solar scheme is expected to help slash a mammoth 3,000 tonnes of CO2 off the borough’s annual carbon output.
Cllr Neil Rogers, Wrexham Council's Leader, said: “Solar is playing a vital role in turning Wrexham into a sustainable borough. We wanted to use high-end technology that we can rely on, as well as supporting local business, and were therefore delighted that Sharp Solar, based in Wrexham, were able to provide us with such an excellent product. It is already bringing benefits to our housing tenants and helping us meet our targets to reduce carbon emissions and energy use and help tackle fuel poverty."
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