Residents in south Cumbria have another opportunity to invest in a community-owned renewable energy scheme. Burneside Community Energy has already raised £250,000 from local shareholders to install 250kW of solar PV on the roof of paper manufacturer James Cropper’s factory. Now the group aims to raise a further £330,000 for a second installation, again in partnership with the Kendal-based firm. Organisers say the shares, which will be £1 with a minimum investment of £250, will generate annual interest of over 4.5 per cent. Gill Fenna, director of Burneside Community Energy, said: “On the back of the over-performance of the first phase of our installation, which was commissioned nearly three years ago, we were encouraged to go for this second phase.

In Cumbria »

West Sussex County Council has launched its second solar farm which features battery storage technology. The Westhampnett solar project near Chichester is expected to generate enough electricity to power around 2,400 homes a year. The battery is used to store surplus electricity which can be released to the grid when consumer demand is high. It follows the launch of the Tangmere solar farm in 2015, which already produces power for 1,500 homes a year. The council has also installed solar panels on its buildings, including offices, schools and fire stations. Islington Council will be showing how it used CHP and heat recapture techologies to make a different to the community at Energy Live Expo on 31st October, with Energy Minister Claire Perry headlining the event.

Energy Live News »

United Utilities is building a floating solar farm on the surface of Langthwaite Reservoir, off Little Fell Lane. The power generated will be used to run the neighbouring Lancaster water treatment works which supplies water to 152,000 people across Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham.

Lancaster Guardian »

Brighton area has 9400 Solar Installations – Govt figures. Recent figures show that the BN postcode area has been kicking out solar PV capacity. More than 9435 buildings across the BN area now have solar. That’s around 36MW of clean solar power Brighton Energy Coop owns 3.3% of our region’s solar capacity (with 1.35MW) – our new projects take us over the 4% mark!

Brighton Energy Co-op »