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New solar trade organisation launched in Scotland
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New solar trade organisation launched in Scotland
T
HE SOLAR Trade Association has created ‘STA Scotland,’ a new entity that seeks to become the leading voice for solar in Scotland, advising and developing policy with the Scottish Government and raising awareness of the benefits of solar. STA Scotland has been backed by a number of prominent figures in the energy industry, including Fergus Ewing, Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism. “The launch of STA Scotland provides a valuable asset for Scotland as we work towards meeting our 2020 renewable energy target,” Ewing said. “STA Scotland will undoubtedly contribute to the Scottish Government’s target to generate the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020. Supporting solar energy is hugely important, as it supports our economic strategy to work towards further social equality and the reduction in fuel poverty for the people of Scotland.” According to Ewing, Scotland is already a strong advocate of solar with 35,000 homes and 600 businesses currently benefitting from solar technology. Scottish STA member, Forster Energy, was involved in the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village, which boasts over 700 homes that have solar energy systems installed, with
Just before the first meeting of STA Scotland, members of the Solar Trade Association gathered outside in Edinburgh to watch the solar eclipse, a reminder of the cosmic and natural source of energy that is the sun. residents enjoying reduced energy bills. The Solar Trade Association estimates that there are 25,000 hectares of south-facing commercial rooftops in Scotland that could be put to use to generate clean, home-grown energy. John Forster, chairman of Forster Energy, has been appointed as the head of the new body. Forster has considerable experience in the construction and solar energy industries. “I am thrilled to be leading STA Scotland,” Forster said. “Striving towards a more sustainable, green and energy-efficient Scotland has been a passion of mine for a long time. The country has been a great supporter of solar energy, and the launch of STA Scotland is testament to this. I am proud to be
working alongside the industry’s finest, to deliver a future for Scotland that will be able to reap the benefits of solar energy.” STA has already carried out a lot of work to promote solar in the UK, showing how solar could produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 18 million homes and support almost 50,000 jobs across the British solar supply chain by 2030. STA analysis has shown that solar panels in Glasgow generate more than 90% of the energy the same number of panels would produce in London, showing how strong the case for solar is in Scotland. Paul Barwell, CEO of the STA, was also present in Edinburgh for the first meeting of the new body. “I’m delighted to launch STA Scotland, which has been set up to give our member companies north of the border the support and clout to drive the agenda forward for both solar PV and solar thermal hot water heating,” he said. “This has been driven by our members over the last 18 months, and I am delighted to say that the STA is now able to use its in-house policy, communications and analysis resources to support this new group.” Other companies present at the meeting were AES Solar, Lark Energy, Lightsource, McDonald Engineers, Solar Kingdom and Sunamp.
Suntech opens warehouse in Cape Town, South Africa
W
UXI SUNTECH Power Co., Ltd. has officially announced the establishment of a local warehouse in Cape Town, South Africa. This new facility will initially store 500kW of modules and will expand its storage capacity to 1MW later in 2015. The new facility created to reduce delivery time of modules sold to Suntech customers. “The opening of a local warehouse in Cape Town will allow Suntech to
increase its sales capacity in South Africa and in the South African Development Community, which serves as a free trade zone,” said Joey Zheng, regional director to Suntech’s Africa and South Asia markets. “We are also eliminating the effort involved in the PV modules shipping and importation procedure, which will help our customers to better plan their project schedules.” According to Zheng, Suntech will
now be able to assure that all of its customers will have their products within 24 hours after purchase, whereas previously it took 40 days for modules to be delivered from China. This is particularly important, Zheng noted, given the growing number of sales to larger scale projects. Suntech established a full-time presence in South Africa in 2014 as part of its expansion efforts in the region.
March/April 2015 | Renewable Energy Focus
11
New solar trade organisation launched in Scotland
T
HE SOLAR Trade Association has created ‘STA Scotland,’ a new entity that seeks to become the leading voice for solar in Scotland, advising and developing policy with the Scottish Government and raising awareness of the benefits of solar. STA Scotland has been backed by a number of prominent figures in the energy industry, including Fergus Ewing, Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism. “The launch of STA Scotland provides a valuable asset for Scotland as we work towards meeting our 2020 renewable energy target,” Ewing said. “STA Scotland will undoubtedly contribute to the Scottish Government’s target to generate the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020. Supporting solar energy is hugely important, as it supports our economic strategy to work towards further social equality and the reduction in fuel poverty for the people of Scotland.” According to Ewing, Scotland is already a strong advocate of solar with 35,000 homes and 600 businesses currently benefitting from solar technology. Scottish STA member, Forster Energy, was involved in the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village, which boasts over 700 homes that have solar energy systems installed, with
Just before the first meeting of STA Scotland, members of the Solar Trade Association gathered outside in Edinburgh to watch the solar eclipse, a reminder of the cosmic and natural source of energy that is the sun. residents enjoying reduced energy bills. The Solar Trade Association estimates that there are 25,000 hectares of south-facing commercial rooftops in Scotland that could be put to use to generate clean, home-grown energy. John Forster, chairman of Forster Energy, has been appointed as the head of the new body. Forster has considerable experience in the construction and solar energy industries. “I am thrilled to be leading STA Scotland,” Forster said. “Striving towards a more sustainable, green and energy-efficient Scotland has been a passion of mine for a long time. The country has been a great supporter of solar energy, and the launch of STA Scotland is testament to this. I am proud to be
working alongside the industry’s finest, to deliver a future for Scotland that will be able to reap the benefits of solar energy.” STA has already carried out a lot of work to promote solar in the UK, showing how solar could produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 18 million homes and support almost 50,000 jobs across the British solar supply chain by 2030. STA analysis has shown that solar panels in Glasgow generate more than 90% of the energy the same number of panels would produce in London, showing how strong the case for solar is in Scotland. Paul Barwell, CEO of the STA, was also present in Edinburgh for the first meeting of the new body. “I’m delighted to launch STA Scotland, which has been set up to give our member companies north of the border the support and clout to drive the agenda forward for both solar PV and solar thermal hot water heating,” he said. “This has been driven by our members over the last 18 months, and I am delighted to say that the STA is now able to use its in-house policy, communications and analysis resources to support this new group.” Other companies present at the meeting were AES Solar, Lark Energy, Lightsource, McDonald Engineers, Solar Kingdom and Sunamp.
Suntech opens warehouse in Cape Town, South Africa
W
UXI SUNTECH Power Co., Ltd. has officially announced the establishment of a local warehouse in Cape Town, South Africa. This new facility will initially store 500kW of modules and will expand its storage capacity to 1MW later in 2015. The new facility created to reduce delivery time of modules sold to Suntech customers. “The opening of a local warehouse in Cape Town will allow Suntech to
increase its sales capacity in South Africa and in the South African Development Community, which serves as a free trade zone,” said Joey Zheng, regional director to Suntech’s Africa and South Asia markets. “We are also eliminating the effort involved in the PV modules shipping and importation procedure, which will help our customers to better plan their project schedules.” According to Zheng, Suntech will
now be able to assure that all of its customers will have their products within 24 hours after purchase, whereas previously it took 40 days for modules to be delivered from China. This is particularly important, Zheng noted, given the growing number of sales to larger scale projects. Suntech established a full-time presence in South Africa in 2014 as part of its expansion efforts in the region.
March/April 2015 | Renewable Energy Focus
11