Work on UK’s largest rooftop solar project gets underway

The project is eligible for subsidies under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme. However, its size puts it into the bracket of solar installations that have triggered the Government's controversial 'fast-track’ review into solar. 

The FiT is a £400 million investment scheme for homeowners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to profit from installing renewable energy generators on their properties. Projects that generate under 5 MW can receive funding for up to 25 years for the electricity they generate.

Controversy
The Going Solar project is expected to generate 440,000 kilowatt hours (kWth). Projects of this size are exactly what the Government is concerned about. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is looking to reduce the tariff for projects over 50 kW because it is concerned they will eat up too much money that it wants to see allocated to smaller installations by SMEs and homeowners. If the reduced tariffs it is proposing are brought in, existing projects such as the one at Debach will not be affected. 

Going Solar
Going Solar said the 2,200 panels it is placing on Debach’s site will generate enough power for the warehouse and 100 additional homes when the power is sent back to the grid.

"Work is progressing well on this vast installation and the team is delighted to be playing its role in a ground-breaking project in the UK," said Charles Houston, director.

Going Solar is no stranger to such large-scale PV projects. It installed one of the UK’s largest solar thermal panel projects at Abberley Hall School near Worcester to heat the swimming pool and showers.