Big Solar Co-op, a not-for-profit, carbon-first and volunteer-led organisation whose first large rooftop solar installation was on the Herefordshire borders at Tenbury, has now installed a second large roof mounted system, this time in Cambridgeshire. Big Solar Co-op is progressing some 480 other potential sites on large rooftops across the UK. The buildings range from doctors’ surgeries to community buildings, leisure centres, large shops and other medium and large businesses.
Big Solar Co-op was established (by Shrewsbury-based Shareenergy)to help deal with the obstacles that small community energy schemes face in the current climate. Anyone can join, and the share offer document has just been updated to include information on how BSC is obtaining PV parts from ethical sources and trying to keep to high standards. (Apologies for the photo of me on the front – it was not my idea!)
Also to explain how it all works a case study has recently been completed about the project I worked on locally in Tenbury. This was done by Tim Braunholtz-Speight of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change research. It could be useful for any potential sites with large roof areas (and a big electricity consumption) that you might know of.
Here is a recent article about Big Solar Co-op written by the Council for Protection of Rural England (CPRE), which is actively campaigning for expansion of rooftop solar.
Gordon Coppock
HGN Vice-Chair and a Director of Big Solar Co-op
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