Pioneering versatile roll-up solar panels are being used to help power Flat Holm, an island in the Bristol Channel, to meet increased tourism, environmental and logistical challenges.

The Rapid Roll system allows flexible solar panels to be unrolled like a carpet from a trailer in two minutes to provide 11kW of power.

It is hoped that this technology will provide a power solution in areas hit by natural disasters. A larger version can be unrolled from a shipping container in less than an hour to generate 300kW of power.

John Hingley, managing director of Milton-Keynes based Renovagen (www.renovagen.com), came up with the idea of scaling up mobile solar-power technology while away travelling five years ago; by making the panels rollable, a substantial power capacity can fit into a small box.

This means that a 4¥4’s trailer can carry enough solar panelling to power a 120-bed mobile clinic or to desalinate 25,000 litres of sea water every day.

Flat Holm — a site of special scientific interest, for its plants and birdlife — was once the location for a cholera sanatorium, and it was chosen by Guglielmo Marconi when he transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea (in 1897).

The island does not have a mains supply; it previously relied on a combination of diesel generators and older-style solar panels to provide electricity.

Flat Holm team leader Natalie Taylor said: “As we promote the island and get more visitors, there’s going to be a lot more demand for electricity, so it’s really important that we’ve got a really high-functioning system.

“From an environmental point of view, we want to reduce the use of diesel generators, so that we can have as small an ecological footprint as possible.”