Following our success in securing a grant from the Urban Community Energy Fund, we have now commissioned a study of all rooftops in Exeter that could fit 30kWp or more and we are currently reviewing the data that has come back. This means we have over 350 roofs to investigate. Although many will have been contacted by us previously and others will not be technically or financially feasible, this is still a really useful resource and we are currently sorting them into priorities for Gill, Joe and our team of Directors and volunteers to follow up.
As well as identifying roofs, however, it is arguably more important that we get to speak to the right people associated with them, people who at the end of the day can have a positive effect on the decision making process for signing a lease with us and partnering in Solar PV1. If you know people who sit on community centre committees, school governors, business owners or others, please speak to them about Solar PV1 and encourage them to get in touch.
Concurrently, we are talking to Western Power Distribution (the operators of the local electricity network) about issues with local grid capacity. WPD recently announced that the high voltage F route – basically the main artery of the grid in the south west – is all but full, and any new large scale projects cannot be connected until the grid is upgraded over the next 6 years. Although this does not necessarily have a direct effect on rooftop projects that we are looking at – these should usually connect to a more local low voltage network – there is a lack of clarity about the knock-on effect it could have. We are trying to get a clearer picture by working with them, and will keep you up to date with developments.
In the meantime, we have been approached by Unison who have a roof in Sowton that could be a part of Solar PV1, and we’re currently exploring that possibility. Unfortunately, Clyst St Mary Village Hall have decided to progress their own solar PV project so we wish them well. At Shillingford Organics, where a previous structural survey found prohibitive issues with the roofs we were hoping to use, we are working with Martyn, the owner, to see if there could be another solution. Again, we will keep you posted.
