Conergy Completes 4.5 MW Solar in UK; Microgrid Solar Uses Panels as Roof Material

Conergy completed a 4.5 MW solar farm (pictured) for UK solar PV developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy. Conergy was the general contractor, responsible for engineering and layout, construction and component supply for the plant, which will be owned and operated by Lightsource for the next 25 years. Connection to the grid comes just weeks after Conergy supplied four other solar farms with a total capacity of 15 MW in the UK, which is experiencing rapid growth in large-scale solar deployment. The new plant is located close to the village of Lovedean in Hampshire, southern England, and features 18,500 modules on Conergy SolarLinea mounting systems. The system will produce some 4,600 MWh per year.

The number of large solar farms is growing in the UK due to government-mandated Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) and solar-specific power purchase agreements (PPAs). Renewable energy plant operators sell electricity to utilities at a fixed price under the PPAs, while for every megawatt hour generated, a solar farm receives two ROCs, which can be sold to utilities, large energy users or off-takers to meet government requirements.

St. Louis-based Microgrid Solar used solar panels to create a restaurant roof for Joe Edward’s Moonrise Hotel. Unlike traditional solar modules, the glass panels that form the roof are frameless, translucent modules that take the place of a roof, and which allow light to peek through. Microgrid Solar has been utilizing the translucent, frameless solar panels, manufactured by Denver-based Lumos, in various solar canopies and awnings, but this is the first time it’s used them for a water-tight roof structure. The new 25.6 kW array is expected to produce nearly 33,000 kWh annually. The canopy is mounted on a custom-designed steel structure, and the solar modules have been sealed to create a waterproof roof.