DARTMOUTH, DEVON: Beco’s solar division, BecoSolar, announced today that it has successfully completed the installation of the first grid-connected, solar electric generating system in the South West of England at Kelbechan House, Capton, Dartmouth. The 1.35kW system began exporting electricity to the network at 10am on the 27th August, 1999, with the full approval of Western Power Distribution Ltd.The clean, silent, generator will produce around 900kWh per annum, 40% of this domestic property’s requirements. The solar array comprises 27 Solarex MST-50 amorphous silicon, glass/glass laminates incorporated into a Schuco aluminium curtain-walling system tilted at 40° which forms the roof over a greenhouse and conservatory extension to the property. Power from the array is produced at a nominal 48Vdc then fed to a MicroTech PG1000 Inverter where it is converted to 230Vac before connection to the low voltage utility network. In practice power from the array is mostly used within the house but when generator output exceeds demand the excess is fed to the network via an export meter. This is the most cost-effective solution due to the price difference between imported and exported kWhs. SWEB’s Green Electron Scheme has provided assistance to the project by covering the cost of connection, commissioning, metering and meter-reading. BecoSolar have been the UK & Ireland distributor for Solarex photovoltaic products since 1989 and also manufacture voltage regulators for use in stand-alone solar systems. This success comes shortly after the world record-breaking balloon flight by the Breitling Orbiter 3 in March this year which carried a solar power system designed and supplied by BecoSolar.Additional information about this project and BecoSolar can be found on our web site at http://www.becosolar.com or by contacting Rob Adams, Bob Blanchard or Brian Leighton at the above address.ENDITThis article courtesy of http://solarpowernowsite.com.You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.