The Big Solar Pioneer programme is in full swing and the first round of proposals have been sent out to our local leads for post-FiTs solar power on sites they have suggested. We are using OpenSolar to triage sites, design solar arrays and have an arrangement to provide user feedback to Open Solar’s developers to improve the software for the UK community energy sector as a whole. During the Covid-19 lockdown over 40 possible sites for new community solar have been processed! Using smart cloud-based tools like OpenSolar for collaborative site logging means we can analyse many sites simultaneously and start moving towards our goal of rooftop community solar at scale.
Anyone is welcome to send new sites to info@bigsolar.coop for assessment by our volunteers (in confidence and without commitment – on all sides). We will provide a basic assessment of the site and send you a draft proposal with a design similar to the one above. We currently have capacity to look at individual sites or sets of sites and have a few slots left on the Pioneer programme. Our intern Aaron from Keele Uni will be with us until Christmas and we have been busy onboarding and training volunteer activists. Do get in touch if you would like to join the next OpenSolar training webinar 🌞