Brits get bright with solar panels

We’re getting smarter when it comes to greener sources of power in the UK. New government statistics out yesterday show more than 125,000 homes put solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on their […]

We’re getting smarter when it comes to greener sources of power in the UK.

New government statistics out yesterday show more than 125,000 homes put solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on their rooftops last year.

Around 700 megawatts (MW) of solar power was also installed on buildings and in ground-mounted solar farms because of the Feed in Tariff scheme (FiT).

The FiTs give money back to households and businesses for electricity generated from their renewable sources such as solar.

Schools, village halls and businesses are cashing in on the deal too, according to the monthly MCS and ROOFIT figures. Bigger solar PV projects between 10 kilowatts (kW) and 50kW grew by 50% between October and December 2014.

Levels need to keep rising if solar energy is to manage going “subsidy-free”, that is, not to need government subsidies to tempt buyers, say experts.

David Pickup, Solar Trade Association’s Business Analyst said: “As we have shown in our model of the Feed in Tariff budget, we need to see more solar going up on roofs and more gradual reductions in the tariff to get to the industry’s goal of subsidy-free solar.

“Our Solar Independence Plan sets out how we can restructure the Feed in Tariff to get more solar for very little extra money and give a path to zero subsidy.”

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