With much of the current focus by Government and in the media on decarbonising heat and transport, leading to greater dependence on the electricity grid than ever, more and more homeowners and companies are now looking to minimise their escalating electricity bills with onsite electricity generation. Solar panels are one of the most developed renewable energy sources in use with projects being financially competitive against market electricity rates without subsidies or governmental support.
Whilst a solar PV system is an attractive financial proposition in most situations, it is key to understand the limitations of your connection to the electricity grid. For instance, should the proposed system have a peak output of more than 16A/3.68kW per phase (about 12 modern solar panels), a G99 application will have to be made to your local DNO. This application involves providing a detailed system specification and designs to your local DNO, so they are able to assess the impact that your system could have on the grid. The DNO will have ultimate authority on the number of solar panels you will be allowed to connect to the grid and they may also request that you install added protection on the grid connection such as an export limitation device. Permission must be granted before installation work can start, so we would recommend applying sooner rather than later as the wait time can take up to three months depending on who your DNO is.
At isoenergy we are now seeing an increasing demand for larger solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and therefore our services as well, as DNO’s are becoming increasingly busy processing G99 grid applications. Should you be considering a solar PV installation on the roof or in the grounds of your property, please don’t hesitate to contact our consultancy team (01293 821 345) to guide you through all the necessary permitting and system specification to allow you to start reducing your electricity bills today.