Rooftop solar could cut global warming and provide 65% of the world’s electricity, new study finds

Covering the whole world’s rooftops with solar panels could provide the majority of global electricity, and even lower temperatures by 0.13 degrees according to some recent research by the University of Sussex.

Rooftops cover approximately 286,000 km² of the world, an area similar in size to Italy or New Zealand. If every suitable roof was used, the study found photovoltaic solar (rooftop PV) could generate 19,500 TWh of electricity per year. 

This would cover 65% of current global consumption and almost completely replace fossil fuel-based electricity, if coupled with load shifting and battery-electric storage.

The researchers used climate modelling techniques to simulate the impact of widespread solar deployment by 2050. 

When it comes to global warming 0.13 degrees Celsius is a significant fraction. A 2023 Nature study estimated that for every 0.1 degree of warming above current levels, another 140 million people will be exposed to dangerous heat levels.

Urging policymakers to prioritise this technology, the researchers argue that solar power offers taxpayers better value for money than nuclear. University of Sussex climate and policy researcher Prof Felix Creutzig said: “Solar is now outcompeting nuclear power in cost, deployment speed and environmental risks. 

"Given its immediate carbon reduction benefits governments should consider shifting incentives toward rooftop PV instead of nuclear. This goes for cooler countries like the UK as well as those with more obvious solar potential.”

Solar power costs have declined dramatically over the past decade. Data from the International Renewable Energy Agency suggests the levelised cost of electricity for solar is now in the range of £30 to £50 per MWh, while new nuclear projects such as Small Modular Reactors are estimated at between £100 and £150 per MWh.

Dr Creutzig adds: “Beyond carbon savings, reducing fossil fuel dependence also means cleaner air and better energy security. With so much untapped potential in solar it’s hard to see how governments can justify investing in nuclear, or as yet unproven carbon capture projects.”

Today’s paper advocates for global cooperation to deploy solar panels where they can be most powerfully used. 

Despite being the continent with the world’s highest solar energy resources, Africa accounts for only 1% of rooftop PV installations, highlighting the need for investment. High carbon intensity and large building stocks mean that East Asia has the highest potential in rooftop PV for climate change mitigation. Meanwhile, North America and Europe, despite lower solar intensity, have a high combined installation potential of over 4,300 GW or 25% of global capacity based on their high building stock.

https://www.sussex.ac.uk

Last Chance to Take Advantage of Higher Feed-In Tariff

In recent years, solar panels have become a popular choice for homeowners. Not only because they reduce carbon footprint on the planet but also as they offer money saving opportunities. The latest news that the Feed-In Tariff will be halved in March has resulted in a ‘gold rush’ as people look to take advantage of the higher tariff. As the deadline gets closer, solar panels sites have seen a surge in sales.

It has come to light that the Feed-In Tariff will soon be cut from 43.3p per kilowatt to 21p per kilowatt. The cut will come in March but any installation which is completed before this time will benefit from the higher tariff.

Solar Panels Prices is offering customers the opportunity to compare prices from a range of installers. After filling in their details in the quote form, customers need only wait whilst the team at Solar Panels Prices scour customers’ local areas for the best deals on installation.

Each customer will receive three free, no obligation quotes on MCS registered suppliers and will be informed of the process before committing to installation. Those hoping to benefit from the higher Feed-In Tariff must act fast so that the installation can be complete before the deadline in March.

Further cuts will come in July and October so those who do miss out can still take advantage of the 21p per kilowatt tariff. For full details on installation and to save up to 75% off, visit www.SolarPanels-Prices.co.uk.

npower installs solar power at Birmingham Airport

npower will help Birmingham Airport to save 22 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year with the installation of 200 solar panels on the roof of its terminal. The 1.6m x 1m panels will generate 40,000 kWh a year; sufficient to power 12 average sized houses.

The Airport has worked in partnership with npower to install the 50kpw solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to provide renewable green energy on-site as it reduces its dependency on mains power electricity. 

This is the first renewable energy and zero carbon installation on the Airport site and is part of a wider project to improve its energy management and reduce its carbon footprint. 

The solar PV panels capture the sun’s energy using photovoltaic cells, which then convert the sunlight into electricity and even on cloudy days can still produce some electricity, making it incredibly efficient. The system also generates no greenhouse gases, helping the Airport reduce its carbon footprint.

Paul Kehoe, the Airport’s CEO, said: "It's exciting for the Airport to present such a visible commitment to energy reduction. Managing our greenhouse gas emissions is a high priority for the company and we're always seeking new opportunities to work with partners to reduce our carbon footprint."

As a leading provider of solar PV in the UK for commercial properties, npower was selected to carry out the installation in partnership with Photon Energy. From initial meetings in October, npower was able to complete full site surveys, detailed designs, installation and commissioning in just over six weeks, ensuring the Airport could immediately benefit from the green energy. As a result, there has already been a reduction in energy consumption since the panels were installed in December.

Graham Ryott, Development Manager at npower, added: "Birmingham Airport is committed to a sustainable future so installing solar PV as a way of generating energy is fundamental to its on-going programme in reducing its environmental impact. As one of the busiest Airports in the country, Birmingham is understandably a large energy user but supplementing its energy use with on-site generation is a positive step for the site’s future and npower is delighted to be involved."

An added incentive of solar PV is the Government's Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs), which provide payment to the companies for every unit of electricity generated by solar PV panels.

For more information about Birmingham Airport and its environmental programmes, please visit www.birminghamairport.co.uk.

RWE npower renewables receives green light for green energy

RWE npower renewables has been granted planning permission to build a twelve-turbine wind farm located between the villages of Bozeat, Harrold and Lavendon.

Nun Wood Wind Farm was the subject of a thorough and rigorous public inquiry, held before a Government appointed Planning Inspector. The public inquiry, which concluded in October 2011, was open to all local residents and businesses.

Matt Pinfield, Regional Manager for Eastern England at RWE npower renewables said: "We are delighted with the Planning Inspector's consent for Nun Wood Wind Farm. It is a superb location for a wind farm - well designed and appropriately sited and will generate enough energy to meet the annual average needs of thousands of homes each year. The Nun Wood Wind Farm will make a substantial contribution to clean energy supply and the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gasses."

In his written report the Planning Inspector seemed to agree that there would be some harm caused by the creation of the wind farm. However, stated: "The degree of harm in landscape and visual amenity is limited. In my judgement the harm is outweighed by the urgent need for renewable energy as promoted in national and regional policies and the wider environmental and economic benefits that it would bring over a 25 year period."

As well as Nun Wood Wind Farm generating enough electricity to meet the annual average needs of between approximately 13,700 and 15,600 homes annually, the local community could receive a windfall of at least £540,000 over the lifetime of the wind farm.

This funding would provide a valuable long term source of income for the local community. It is flexible funding that can address what is really important to communities and has the potential to fund large and small projects as well as capital and revenue activities. The annual funding of £1,000 per megawatt (MW) per year would become available when the wind farm is operational and local people can be involved in deciding how it is distributed.

Matt Pinfield added: "We have consulted with the local community during the planning and development of this wind farm and as a responsible developer we will continue to work with the community throughout the next stages of the project as the wind farm is constructed. We will be providing detailed construction and traffic management plans to Milton Keynes Council, Bedford Borough Council and the Borough Council of Wellingborough which will also be available for public consultation."

Construction of the wind farm presents opportunities for local economic benefit and employment. Whilst current legislation and competitive tender process for each part of the works is followed, it is normal to expect that local suppliers and contractors with appropriate skills will be well placed to tender for contracts.

Trade Skills 4U launches sister company 'Solar PV Tools.co.uk'

Trade Skills 4U.co.uk, the UK's largest independent electrical & renewable energy training provider, have launched a brand new ecommerce website selling Solar PV Tools. The website, www.solarpvtools.co.uk, is designed to equip renewable energy installers with all the tools they would need to install, test and maintain solar PV systems.

Trade Skills 4U.co.uk Managing Director, Carl Bennett says: “We have always taken customer care very seriously, talking and listening to our customers and taking their views on board. We only recommend tools based on our own practical hands on testing; tools must be fairly easy to use and survive the rigours of daily practice to become a tool we trust, in order for us to feel able to sell them to our customers.

"Having found difficultly sourcing solar PV kits ourselves, it seems there is space for a market leader to supply solar installers with the kit necessary to complete installations and comply with MCS accreditation standards.”

In June this year, Trade Skills 4U successfully launched their Renewable energy training centre, complete with purpose built facilities built to cater for the demand for renewable energy installers. The centre houses the UK’s first and only single storey training roof that enables candidates to install solar PV at height and with all the necessary kit they would require on a real installation such as pulleys, ginn wheels etc.

“We are in great support of this growing industry and have invested £350,000 into building our dedicated renewable energy centre; it seems like a step in the right direction to enable candidates to buy the kit we trust whilst they train with us. We are continually innovating and improving our products and services. The new website is the natural next step," added Carl Bennett.

Joe Bennett, Sales Manager of the new site added: "We are in a competitive market. Customers rightly expect a good deal and a professional service. At Solar PV Tools we know that our products are not only the very best available but also that we listen to our customers and construct the kits they need for the job. We provide fully bespoke solar PV tool kits which installers and contractors can design for themselves based on need and continue to refine our products and services to meet their needs now and in the future."

FACTFILE:

Trade Skills 4U LTD are the UK’s largest independent electrical training centre that specialises in electrical training courses. Their Renewable Energy Training facility will be launching in May where a range of Renewable energy skills such as Solar PV courses will be on offer.

The ball that makes its own power

A new website and brand personality delivered by Gasp prepares the innovative energy product for launch this summer.

Gasp, the Berkshire-based creative marketing agency, has been appointed as an official partner of Uncharted Play to boost brand awareness of its innovative sOccket product; a soccer ball that captures the energy during game play to be used later to charge LEDs and batteries. Ready for mass distribution across the globe this summer, the life-changing electricity product is designed to support impoverished communities.

sOccket will initially benefit from Gasp’s expertise as part of a new annual project that helps companies develop their marketing, completely free-of-charge. The team has created a whole new brand personality for sOccket, complete with new logo as well as a new website; a critical tool in raising the profile of the product.

“The input and expertise from Gasp to develop the sOccket brand ready for mass distribution and marketing has been invaluable. After a year of testing sOccket across Africa, Spain and Haiti, it has been really exciting to see the brand come to life. The Gasp team are creative, innovative and have fresh ideas; all of which will help us to empower hundreds of thousands of people worldwide living without modern energy to get safe, immediate access to electricity,” said Jessica Matthews, CEO at Uncharted Play.

Sophie Anderson, Director at Gasp added, “We were looking to use the skills of the team at Gasp to do something for the greater good and discovered the sOccket. It’s such a simple yet innovative product, which addresses the power-crisis; and we felt it a worthwhile cause to offer our services to Uncharted Play to help them market it.”

In most African countries, 95% of the population is living with no access to electricity (World Bank Millennium Goals Report, 2006). The World Bank estimates that breathing the fumes created from burning kerosene indoors equals the harmful effects of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. To address this, the sOccket harnesses the rotational kinetic (motion) energy of a soccer ball during normal game play and stores it to be used later for energy. After playing with the ball, the child can return home and use the ball to connect a LED lamp to read, study, or illuminate the home.

The ball uses an inductive coil mechanism to generate energy. sOccket is still in prototyping stage, where 15 minutes of play can light three hours of LED light. For more information about sOccket and the global power crisis visit www.soccket.com.

Biggest privately-owned solar PV panel installation in the south west powers UK’s first electrically-sufficient grain store

A new photovoltaic solar panel electricity generation scheme for farmer and grain store operator Colin Godwin at Keysley Farm, Monkton Deverill, is now the largest privately-owned installation in south-west England. It has also resulted in Keysley’s commercial grain store becoming the first in the UK to become electrically-sufficient in energy.

Although situated in Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the scheme has been endorsed by the local AONB officer as well as Wiltshire Council.

T H White Energy has installed 1,125 solar panels on the south-west facing roofs of the 26,400-tonne grain store, that was itself a project partly undertaken by T H White last year. The array covers an area equal to 25 cricket pitches and is expected to generate 216,000kWh of electricity per year. That’s sufficient to light up Swindon every night for an entire month!

The electricity generated by the 270kWp installation will power intake drying and cooling for the entire 26,400 tons grain capacity at the store, which handles feed wheat and oilseed rape exclusively for Openfield – Britain’s largest farmer-owned grain marketing and arable input co-operative.

Today the store serves over 80 Openfield farmers and T H White was one of the businesses involved in its expansion during 2010 with partial funding from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

It is expected that the scheme will also save over 105 tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to annual power consumption of 45 houses, or travelling 350,000 miles in a car – equal to driving eight and a half times around the world.

As Keysley Farm is in the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) extra care was taken over the appearance of the scheme. Kyocera panels were chosen due not only to their excellent performance and warranty, but also because they are black cells mounted within a black frame. Also, contrary to popular thinking about solar PV panels, they actually reflect very little light.

Cranborne Chase AONB officer Richard Burden said: “The use of black panels on the roof of Keysley Farm’s grain store has actually reduced the visual impact of the building in the landscape. Schemes such as this which generate renewable energy and help to ensure that the area is sustained as a vibrant, living, working landscape are very much in keeping with the conservation objectives of the AONB.”

The scheme was also endorsed by the Energy Change and Opportunity (ECO) Team at Wiltshire Council. Senior Climate Change Officer Vincent Albano said: “Schemes like this will make a valuable contribution to the installed renewable energy capacity for Wiltshire.”

It is anticipated that the solar PV installation at Keysley Farm will cover its costs within eight years and has an operational life expectancy of at least 25 years.

T H White Energy is part of the T H White Handling & Storage Division which specialises in bulk grain storage and processing. Other diverse areas of T H White’s business encompass agricultural, dairy and grasscare equipment, Land Rover and Subaru vehicles, Palfinger lorry cranes, construction equipment and security and fire protection systems.

Coke Adds Firefly Solar Power for Its Event Recycling Programme

Firefly Solar, a European leader in the design and manufacturer of off-grid, portable and permanent solar-powered generators, has won a contract from Coca-Cola Enterprises to supply 6 of its Cygnus generators to power the company’s Event Recycling programme at outdoor events in Great Britain and France.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) piloted its Event Recycling programme during 2010 with the objective to motivate festival goers to make recycling a daily habit. The Programme recovered over 18 tonnes of recyclate (PET and cans) and reached an audience in excess of half a million people attending eight festivals during the summer of 2010.

The equipment being supplied by Firefly Solar consists of two standalone solar power systems comprised of three of the company’s 5kW Cygnus solar generators, configured to provide a three-phase 5kW electrical supply. One system each will be supplied to the British and French teams to provide electrical power for waste compaction equipment and for portable office space at this year’s events.

Patrick McGuirk, Recycling Director for Coca-Cola Enterprises said, “By using Firefly Solar generators to provide a green energy supply to power our Event Recycling Programme we can ensure that we reduce the carbon footprint of our activation this summer. Coca-Cola Enterprises is committed to transforming recycling and reducing the absolute carbon footprint of our business. Firefly’s portable solar generators are an important capital investment to ensure the footprint of our Event Recycling activities are minimised.”

Andy Mead, managing director at Firefly Solar said, “At Firefly we are delighted by the association with Coca-Cola Enterprises and pleased to have won this contract. It’s been estimated that 20,000 tonnes of carbon are created annually through the use of standby diesel generators at UK music events. We applaud Coca-Cola Enterprises for selecting renewable energy supplied by our Cygnus solar power generators in its campaign to clean up festivals and to promote recycling throughout Great Britain and France.”

Cygnus is a compact and high quality, forklift-able solar generator. With a footprint of less than 1 square meter (excluding solar array), Cygnus generator’s built in battery bank can be charged using a range of renewable sources including solar, wind and pedal power - it can even be charged using the excess capacity of biodiesel or hydrogen generators or from a green mains supply.

Cygnus solar generators feature plug and play connections for easy installation and operation by untrained personnel. The generators meet all European standards for safety and multiple systems can be linked together to provide higher single phase current or a 3 phase supply. Cygnus' integrated intelligent control panel is easily navigated allowing the user to instantly ascertain the percentage of stored energy available from the system. The controller also gives the user a wide range of configuration options to optimise the system for its environment anywhere in the world.

Firefly Solar generators have been used successfully at Glastonbury, Love Box and the Isle of Wight music festivals to provide solar powered stages for audiences of up to 5000. Firefly Solar equipment creates absolutely zero emissions in operation; are truly silent running; increase safety and reduce risk by the elimination of flammable liquids and fuels and provide a pure sine wave, 230V current to power sensitive electronic equipment. Firefly Solar generators are fully compatible with wind and solar inputs.

For more details please contact Firefly Solar on 01273 617006 or visit www.fireflysolar.co.uk.