In the UK, using warehouse roofs for solar power could produce over 13 trillion watt-hours of energy. Even one-third of this would fulfill the UK’s commitment for 2030.
The issue: regulators have handed power over who and how to connect to the national grid to the District Network Operators, who get to decide the cost and access.
Rooftop solar for warehouses would need dozens of requests for access from DNO’s and they would be in a position to set the cost at a level where it would be impractical.
Gavin van Marle proposes that control be given to the state regulator Ofgem. That would break up DNO control and allow a fair price to be set. And it could make a big difference in solar power generation.
The alternative is trying to install solar on vacant farmland, which has its own set of regulatory hurdles and protests. Few would care if solar were on top of warehouses.
It’s an interesting conundrum, and one we hope the UK acts on soon. We could do more of the same in the US.
By Gavin van Marle 08/09/2022
Monopolist gatekeepers keeping warehouse power in the shade – The Loadstar
Supply Chain and Logistics 