In response to the climate challenges the world is facing, the UK Government committed to achieving the net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emission target, outlined in The Paris Agreement, by 2050.
In the UK, 61 million people – 95% of the total population – now live in administrative areas where the Local Authority have declared a Climate Emergency.
Solar energy has become one of the most cost effective ways to move the UK to net zero, the industry is looking to triple its energy output by 2030 resulting in solar becoming responsible for more than 10% of the country’s electricity demand.
The LOCATE SOLAR platform is enabling councils to rapidly assess city scale areas to understand asset potential and accelerate project deployment as part of their wider scale decarbonisation strategies. Local Authorities already benefiting from LOCATE SOLAR include: –
- Kent County Council
- West Sussex County Council
- London Borough of Lambeth Council
- Uttlesford District Council
- Winchester City Council
The Geospatial Insight team are working across sectors to enable stakeholders to assess a multi-technology approach to decarbonisation across our towns and cities. This includes collaborations with Solar Developers, Battery Storage Developers, Chargepoint Operators, and property stakeholders such as Social Housing Associations.
Dave Fox, CEO, Geospatial Insight, commented, “LOCATE SOLAR is the first database of its kind, containing critical intelligence for over 23 million buildings in the UK, simplifying the process of identifying and accelerating opportunities for councils to deploy rooftop solar as part of their wider carbon net zero plans.
The LOCATE platform, which already includes an EV ChargePoint planning module helping to push forward Electric Vehicle infrastructure, is evolving alongside the needs of the country in the effort to reduce emissions.”
Lindsay Reynolds, Energy Project Manager at Kent County Council said: “Kent County Council are thrilled to be an early adopter of Geospatial Insight’s national rooftop solar suitability database.”
“Having this intelligence will be invaluable for both the short and long-term strategic planning not only for the Authority, but the County as a whole, as the data will be shared in partnership with districts and boroughs.”
“We also plan to use the data in tandem with our next phase of Solar Together, where we can now access much more granular roof insights for residential buildings.”
Alex Templeton, Director & Innovation Lead at Community Works CIC added: “Geospatial Insight’s rooftop solar suitability data has become a core component in our work with the South East New Energy (SENE) project.”
“SENE’s aim is to break down barriers to decarbonisation, and the rooftop solar suitability data has been invaluable for rapidly identifying projects that can help communities and businesses generate their own energy, reduce emissions, and deliver long-term revenue streams.
“In addition, via Geospatial Insight’s LOCATE platform, we can better engage stakeholders by allowing them to visualise and contextualise the data in an intuitive map-based web app, and rank and prioritise project activities based on both financial and environmental returns on investment.”
