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Image: Getty.
Despite the challenges faced by the solar sector in 2020, it has progressed at pace throughout the year with significant capacity additions, key policy decisions and new players entering the market. The past few months have been particularly significant in terms of policy, with important documents such as the Ten Point Plan and the energy white paper released, helping to set out the roadmap for the sectors development in coming years.
Of the news stories released on Solar Power Portal throughout 2020, these are the top five most read:
Published: 2 Jan 2020
The introduction of the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariffs way back in January unsurprisingly has grabbed first place, as suppliers laid out the price consumers with solar panels can expect to receive from exports. Social Energy s 5.6p per kWh took the top spot, but the level varied dramatically, including the barely-compliant 0.001p per kWh that Shell Energy offered before later upping its offerin
Published: 17 Dec 2020, 10:46
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Image: RES.
Octopus Renewables has signed a three-year spares management contract with RES as it continues to grow its solar portfolio in the UK.
The agreement will see RES supply inverter spares, requiring it to own over 1000 compatible spare parts and deliver these on-demand. This will improve the availability of parts and develop commercial advantage for Octopus’s 640MW portfolio.
RES recently opened an operations and maintenance (O&M) site in Exeter to support this agreement along with other recent growth.
Brian Darnell, head of solar and storage O&M at RES, said the company was “thrilled” to be offer Octopus “a unique multi-vendor spares management service” as well as the delivery guarantee for its UK solar sites.
RES and Octopus Renewables have signed a three-year management contract that will see the former supply inverter spares for the clean energy investor’s solar assets in the UK.
The agreement requires RES to own over 1000 spare parts that are compatible with Octopus Renewables’ inverter fleet and deliver these on-demand within a guaranteed time period.
The kit will provide availability improvement and commercial advantage for 640MW of assets.
To support this and other recent growth, RES opened an operations and maintenance site in Exeter earlier this year. The new 2000 square foot facility enables enhanced spare parts management for all RES’ clients as well as office facilities for the team locally, the company said.
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This is the third in a series of articles investigating growth sectors, developing technologies and niche themes that adventurous private investors can back in their Isas – and how they might do so. The previous one, on open-ended funds in the environmental sector, is here.
The UK s energy mix is in the process of transitioning from coal and gas towards renewables and has been for some time. During the first quarter of 2020, 47 per cent of the UK s electricity generation came from wind and solar.
When all sources of renewables are included, such as biomass and hydro, the forecast is for around 80 per cent of our power to come from renewables by 2040.