News -

13Mar

County Hall for Leicestershire

by jsst-admin News

Jonstar has been involved with several projects at County Hall for Leicestershire
County Council – from new installations, maintenance work, and upgrades to the
existing systems that had failed.

As part of a major decarbonisation initiative in 2021, our team installed solar PV
systems across the Rutland Building South, Pen Lloyd Higher Roof, and Pen Lloyd
Lower Roof. Together, these installations total 227.25kWp and help reduce carbon
emissions by an estimated 37.04 tonnes of CO₂ every year.

We also carried out a full assessment of the existing PV systems on site. With
several inverters offline and beyond their warranty period, we proposed upgrading
the systems to SolarEdge technology. This upgrade gave a new lease of life,
improving energy output, enhancing fire safety, and extending the system warranty
to 12 years. In total, 86.45kWp of existing systems were successfully upgraded
across three arrays.

Altogether, Jonstar has now been involved in deploying and upgrading 313.7kWp of
solar PV at County Hall, Leicester.

A fantastic project to be part of – and what a great view from this drone shot!

28Jan

The History of Jonstar

by jsst-admin News

As we have been making some internal changes with the rapid growth of the company, we figured it’s time for a little trip down memory lane... We want to take a look back on our favourite installations over the years as we approach 6 years old.

2020

Was a difficult year as we were just starting the business... it was an unusual way to start a predominately Solar PV company as we had a domestic house renovation; including heating installation achieved through our infrared heaters – but it showed our passion for construction and creativity! It included 2 x 600W White panel far infrared heaters ceiling mounted on the lower floor. 1 x 850W heater on the upper floor.

2021

Was when we took on our first dedicated Project Manager! It’s also the year we started getting more commercial projects in, the star of the show being Willen Lake – an innovative design on a new build in Milton Keynes. Consisting of 58 Suntech panels and a SolarEdge inverter at 17.7kWp with a 15.89MWh annual energy production.

2022

Was a big year for us! So many good projects – EV charging points for Blenheim Palace; Air Source Heat Pumps installed at Beaumanor Hall, Leicestershire; Sun Amp heat batteries at Beaumanor and County Hall; as well as our biggest project to date on County Hall, Leicester. However, the stand out has to be the work we did on the remote Orford Ness Island… off the east coast, it’s renowned as Europe's largest vegetated shingle spit and a former top-secret Cold War military testing site and is now managed by the National Trust! We installed a 31.6kWp off grid system, connected into a 50kWh Battery providing the island with a grid and a back-up generator.

2023

Another big year with 25 solar installations completed. This was the first time we did a façade PV system – turning a London office refurbishment wall into a renewable energy generator! We installed a 35kWp system and 84 Trina panels in total (40 being on the wall!) this system gives an annual energy production of 28.77MWh.

2024

Was a quieter year on site while we concentrated on building the team… Jonstar took on two more project managers and administrative support. Kensington Memorial Park in London was probably the most interesting installation we had that year. A 12.04 kWp system with an annual energy production 10.26 MWh and 28 Trina panels.

2025

Was an interesting year, because while we had the fewest number of installations to date, they all consisted of our largest projects! Without a doubt, the standout project would have to be University Hospital of Hartlepool with a whopping 1520 Solar Panels installed in the grounds for a 668kWp system, generating 515,000kWh a year in electricity. On top of that, we also did a roof installation for a 350kWp system too!

And there we have it! We’re very proud and grateful for how far we’ve come in the last few years, and at the fantastic clients we’ve collaborated with along the way. We’re very excited to see what 2026 will bring, we already have some big installations in the works, so keep updated with our Facebook and LinkedIn pages to find out which ones will be our favourite!

21Jan

Jonstar invited to a Health and Safety (SHAD) event

by jsst-admin News

On one of our current sites where Jonstar are installing over 300kWp of Solar PV across four new industrial units in Market Harborough, we were invited to a morning Health and Safety (SHAD) event run by the Principal Contractor, Britcon (UK) Limited. This was a free event to demonstrate, and practice emergency rescuing at height scenarios and involved the site contractors, UKWS, the Fire Service and Britcon. The site was non-operational during the event showing the commitment of Britcon to Health and Safety in the construction industry while the teams on site could benefit from some time to see how operatives are protected by collective measures such as netting under roofs and in an emergency rescued using scissor lifts, cherry pickers and ultimately if necessary the Fire Service. There was also a mobile training centre with a virtual reality simulator for operating MEWPS courtesy of Nationwide Platforms.

Category News