London boroughs pilot solar batteries
Three London boroughs are testing solar battery installations on social homes, in a bid to find a workable model for solar power after swingeing government cuts last year.
Camden Council, in partnership with Islington Council and Waltham Forest Council, have already carried out installations in 41 homes in the borough.
The ‘24/7 solar’ pilot involves the installation of batteries that store solar power generated in the daytime to supplement evening use.
The panels, ranging from 1.62kWp to 3.78kWp, are being tested with three different battery types from manufacturers Maslow, Growatt and Sonnen, to compare performance during the lifetime of the project.
The programme is part-funded by national fuel poverty charity National Energy Action.
Success of the project will mainly depend on whether the sample 41 households can adapt their behaviour to use stored electricity during the peak 4pm to 8pm period, the councils said.
The renewable initiative follows 65% cuts to solar funding subsidies, paid by energy companies to generators of renewable energy, in February this year.
Thousands of installations of solar panels, including many by social landlords, were mothballed as a result.
Meric Apak, cabinet member for sustainability and environment, said: “Fuel poverty is a very serious issue, blighting people of all ages and circumstances nationwide and storing solar energy can be one of the methods to offer our tenants significant savings to help reduce this burden.”
Source: Inside Housing
