In the rush to beat the deadline for solar photovoltaic (PV) feed-in tariff cuts in the UK, developers EZsolar and a-sun have completed the Ransomes Europark array after obtaining approval from Ipswich City Council to install the 500-KW system on the roof of an industrial building.
The solar PV array comprises 2,173 polycrystalline silicon modules with a power rating of 230-W and weighing a hefty 32 tonnes in total. Due to the latitude of the array located in the south-eastern county of Suffolk, north-east of London, all the panels have been mounted on frames to improve their elevation and incidence to the sun. Four 100 Kw inverters made by Zigor wre used to achieve the installation.
EZ Solar is a Microgeneration Certification Scheme certified installer with 15 years’ experience installing residential, commercial and agricultural solar arrays.
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is the first product and installer certification scheme to cover all the microgeneration technologies in the UK. The MCS Mark is currently owned by the Secretary of State for Energy. The industry-led MCS Steering Group evaluates microgeneration products and installers against strict criteria using European and ISO technical standards for micro wind turbines, heat pumps including ground and air source heat pumps, photovoltaics, biomass, CHP, Micro Hydro and solar thermal.
It is thought that setting robust installation and product standards will help to build up a UK microgeneration market from its current low base, by improving public perceptions of these unfamiliar technologies. The Scheme's overall aim is to contribute to creating a safe, reliable and low carbon energy source to meet challenging EU 2020 targets on renewables. The Microgeneration Certification Scheme is designed to raise standards, protect consumers and to offer information through the certification "mark".
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