The Solar Together London Scheme, which was launched in March this year, invited homeowners living in five London boroughs – Brent, Ealing, Kingston, Merton, and Sutton – to express interest in having a rooftop solar array installed. The scheme then pooled all applicants together, with solar installers invited to lodge tenders for the project under a typical reverse auction scheme.
Homeowners offered discounted solar systems under a ‘bulk-buy’ programme
Solarcentury won the one-day auction process having demonstrated – alongside its bid partner IKEA – how it could deliver savings of approximately £1,400 on a ten-panel system. Depending upon the size of the array, the 600 homeowners that are included in the scheme will receive savings of between 10% and 41%. Once completed, approximately 1.5 MW of new solar PV capacity will have been installed across the five boroughs, with the majority of customers opting for the high performance offer using Hanwha Q CELLS solar modules.
These cost savings are arrived at through ‘bulk-buying’ solar panels into one single purchase. Homeowners fund the purchase themselves, but by grouping together, they can enjoy sizable discounts. Businesses are also invited to register their interest in the scheme.
After winning the reverse auction, developer Solarcentury partnered with Hanwha Q CELLS to install the Q.PEAK DUO-G5 solar modules. The Q.PEAK DUO-G5 is a half-cell module that offers excellent aesthetics and a high power yield for minimum LCOE. The three junction box design also aids installation flexibility, ensuring that optimum yield output is possible on all types of roofs, while the half-cells also boost low-light performance – an attractive additional feature for a climate such as London’s.
This project is part of the Mayor of London’s £34 million Energy for Londoners Programme, which aims to not only lower electricity bills throughout the capital, but to also boost the uptake of solar PV to 1 GW by 2030 through the Solar Together London initiative.
Sean Collier, Head of Sales UK at Hanwha Q CELLS, remarked: “Such innovative schemes designed to make solar more accessible to homeowners in London are to be applauded. We hope the capital demonstrates to the rest of the country that residential solar is an affordable, reliable and attractive proposition, and for that reason, Hanwha Q CELLS is very pleased to be involved in the Solar Together London programme.”
Gary Watson, Solar Together London Project Manager at Solarcentury, remarked: “We are delighted to have won this highly sought-after contract. Together with IKEA, we offer both the best value and highest quality products, amply demonstrated by our selection of the Q.PEAK DUO-G5 for the high performance package.”
