Allume Energy has redesigned its shared solar PV technology, allowing a single rooftop installation to connect to multiple properties.
The company, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, aims to address ownership and technical barriers to solar adoption for shared housing such as apartments and social housing.
SolShare 2, which will be available in the UK from August, can support capacities of up to 30 kW, up from the flagship 20 kW. It supports up to 15 connections. The rooftop solar panel is intended for installation on apartment buildings, so that residents of multiple apartments have access to solar generation.
SolShare 1 has been available in the UK since 2021 and in June last year Allume received a strategic investment of £4 million from E.ON UK.
In addition to SolShare 2’s increased capacity, Allume has made it easier to integrate the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) with the system. A common BESS stored in or near apartments containing the rooftop array is linked to the SolShare 2 system via an Ethernet connection.
The system, which is PV and supplier independent, also offers residents the option of discharging to the electricity grid, after which charging via the electricity grid can follow.
According to Cameron Knox, CEO and co-founder of Allume Energy, compliance and regulations in the UK had made it ‘almost impossible’ to install integrated solar and BESS in flats, ‘but SolShare 2 is changing that.’
This comes as the The UK government is gathering evidence on how shared battery storage can be made possible will be rolled out across Britain. A federal one government subsidy scheme in Australia shows how the British government could step in to establish a network of community batteries in Britain.
The call for evidence will gather insights on how to scale up implementation, remove regulatory and commercial barriers, ensure safety and ensure benefits reach those unable to install private energy storage in the home, such as tenants and people living in flats.
It cites Allume’s 2023 BESS installation SolShare 1 array on a flat block in Cardiffwhich the company says has reduced demand for energy from the grid by 60-70%.
