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UK basks in most third quarter sunshine hours since 2006
Thursday 29 Nov 2018 Author: Steven Frazer

The summer’s sweltering temperatures may have played havoc with tour operators’ holiday bookings but it has done wonders for the UK’s growing solar power industry.

The three months to 30 September was the sunniest third quarter in the UK since 2006, according to data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The period enjoyed an average of 6.5 hours of daily direct sunshine (with no cloud cover), 1.3 hours more than for the same period in 2017, and an extra 48 minutes per day than the 10-year mean between 2002 and 2011.

That’s led to bumper irradiation levels for UK solar funds  Next Energy Solar (NESF) and John Laing Environmental Assets (JLEN), with 85% and 25% respectively invested in solar projects. The portfolio of Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF) is exclusively invested in solar projects. 

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