NEW REVIEW The Quarterly Newsletter for the UK New and Renewable Energy Industry ISSUE 43 February 2000

PV house completed in South-West

The first Grid-connected PV generation system in south-west England has been successfully installed. The 1.35kW array at Kelbechan House, a domestic property in Capton, Dartmouth, will produce 900kWh/year, equivalent to 40% of the house's electricity needs. It consists of 27 BP Solarex laminates and forms the roof over a greenhouse and conservatory extension to the property. The laminates are designed to blend into the house's existing slate roof and, apart from cleaning, are maintenance-free. The installation was carried out by BecoSolar, the solar division of Beco Batteries (see On the Record).

Power from the array is fed to an inverter before connection to the local low-voltage network. When electricity produced by the array exceeds demand in the house, the excess is fed to the network via an export meter. SWEB's Green Electron scheme (see NEW REVIEW 42) has provided assistance to the project by covering the cost of connection, commissioning, metering and meter-reading. For more information, contact: Rob Adams, BecoSolar, Tel: 01803 833636, Fax: 01803 835379, Web: www.becosolar.com

New Review is produced by ETSU on behalf of the DTI.  Views expressed in the publication do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Government or the views of ETSU.  Neither the DTI or ETSU endorses any of the products or services featured in NEW REVIEW.  Please address any correspondence to:  Dr Barry Hague, Editor - NEW REVIEW, ETSU, Harwell, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 0RA. For more information about the DTI's New & Renewable Energy Programme, contact: New & Renewable Energy Enquiries Bureau, ETSU , Hawell, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RA; Tel: 01235 432450/433601, Fax: 01235 433066 E-mail:NRE-Enquires@aeat.co.uk.