Contractor Blog

Once again we’re taking a look back at a year that’s been anything but ordinary. Changes have come thick and fast, in our daily lives, the renewables industry, environmental legislation and Spirit itself.

Read on for a roundup of all that’s happened in 2021...

Rewinding to the start of summer, we released a blog digging deep into the analysis of solar panel shading and the effective ways it can be mitigated. On the back of the technical flavour of this blog, I was contacted by Solar & Storage Live and invited to speak on a panel at the event.

The show brought together manufacturers, suppliers, installers, and councils as well as many other personnel from the industry, with over 4,000 attendees across the three day event. This provided a great opportunity to meet other members of the solar, storage, and electric vehicle industry as well as providing valuable insight into established and emerging technologies in the market.

We’re thrilled to announce some exciting Tesla news (and it’s not Elon Musk’s new robot). Spirit has won Tesla’s Performance Excellence Award!

This recognises our work installing hundreds of Powerwalls to the exacting standards that enable us to be a Tesla Certified Installer. Much to our delight, the company also highlighted the value of our informative, impartial content in educating people about renewables and energy storage.

We’re delighted to share a look behind the scenes at one of our recent big commercial installs: a huge 217kWp solar PV system at Old Thorns Hotel in Liphook.

Old Thorns is a vast resort with a golf course, spa, bars and restaurants, over 150 rooms, and self catering apartments. With such a lot of activity on site, energy demand is substantial to say the least. Solar PV offered a chance to cut down the club’s electricity bills, while also becoming a more sustainable venue.

It’s fair to say this wasn’t quite the year any of us were hoping for.

But as 2020 draws to a close, we’d like to put the immeasurable challenges we’ve all faced to one side, and reflect on some of the positives this year has had to offer us. From sustaining the solar rollout to Tesla’s Energy Plan, there’s plenty to appreciate.

Spirit Energy is delighted to have been part of bringing renewable energy generation to the Natural History Museum in Tring.

A couple of months ago, we announced that we would be offering our free CPD training online during the coronavirus restrictions. Since then we’ve been running sessions and have been astounded by the interest and enthusiasm from people keen to learn about renewable technologies - and pick up some new skills in lockdown.

As it’s our 10^th birthday today, we felt that it would only be right to reflect on some of the most significant moments of our lifetime. It has been a decade of change within the company and the world of renewable energy, with shifting government incentives, growing awareness of climate change and improving technology. The makeup of Britain's electricity supply has changed dramatically over recent years, with approximately a third of the energy now coming from renewable sources. As Spirit continues to grow we will hopefully see the number of homes and businesses generating their own free and clean electricity increase, helping to further decarbonise the UK’s energy mix.

We are very excited to announce that we’ve been chosen as one of two installers for Solar Together’s current round of PV installations in London. Solar Together is a group-buying scheme, enabling thousands of people to sign up for a personal solar recommendation, which they can purchase at a very competitive price.

Our vision since we started the company almost a decade ago has been of a country where every homeowner can generate their own clean, renewable energy. Technology and costs have changed enormously in that time, but a project like this goes even further towards making solar an option for many more people. We’re delighted to be part of this journey.

We are excited to announce the launch of our new website, www.spiritenergy.co.uk.

Spirit Solar Ltd was launched at the end of 2009 as a residential solar installer. Since then our client base has expanded to include contractors, housebuilders, corporates, schools, colleges, universities, councils and community groups, as well as hundreds of private individuals.