United Kingdom

In a conference call the yieldco says that sale of 376 MW of solar projects in the UK is at an advanced stage, and gave additional information on financial metrics.

Following this week’s announcement that Younicos will supply a 49 MW storage system in the U.K., pv magazine caught up with the company’s president and CEO Stephen L. Prince to find out more about the project, and Younicos’ wider objectives.

The U.K.’s Clean Energy Live show kicked off in Birmingham on Tuesday, taking a holistic approach to the country’s energy issues. The show nevertheless examined those sectors that adding new PV installations in the U.K. today, and set to do so in the forthcoming years.

Following the UK’s referendum result to exit the European Union, news from the country emerges at a speed that is hard to monitor and last week the energy community discussed EDF’s call for a final decision regarding a new U.K. nuclear plant. Adding to the Brexit gloom and the anticipation of EDF’s decision this week is the certainty the U.K. solar industry can expect nothing other than a zero subsidy future.

Solar power is at the forefront of a smarter energy sector, but to enable a new wave of PV installations in Europe, solar needs new regulatory frameworks that value flexibility, says the Smart Energy UK and Europe conference in London. 

The U.K. government has awarded £40 million to four British cities to support the spread of electrical and low-emission vehicles. Supported projects include car-charging street lighting and zones offering free parking and traffic priority to plug-in and low-emission cars. The initiative is seen as another step towards the smart energy revolution.

A grassroots project in Cornwall, England, is examining ways to implement a special, so-called “sunshine tariff.” The project, although small in scale, could provide the template for the solar business models of the new era of zero subsidies.

The concept of the smart home is emerging as a hot topic in the debate regarding the U.K.’s energy future. At the EcoBuild last week, a special session entitled “Smart and Efficient Use of Future Energy” depicted accurately the central role solar PV plays in the transition to the smart era. It also highlighted how innovation leadership is coming from small, bottom-up firms as utilities and policy-makers struggle to adapt and embrace the new technologies.

The fund plans to acquire two PV plants with a combined capacity of 74 MW and expects to continue acquisitions of plants below and above 5 MW following the introduction of next year’s CfD scheme.