Solar Blog

As a direct result of the UK Feed In Tariff (FIT) scheme, the amount of power generated in the UK by home solar panel installations has increased threefold, according to figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The total number of megawatts (MW) produced by solar power in the UK has risen from 26 MW on April 1 2010, to 77.8MW on March 31 2011. Whilst this amounts to over 28,000 installations, solar PV still only represents 0.1% of all power used in the UK through the burning of fossil fuels.

The announcement suggests that over 11,000 homeowners and small businesses installed solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in the first three months of 2011, eager to boost both their green credentials and passive incomes.

Reducing a family’s carbon footprint is uppermost in the minds of many young professionals; that they can do this with nearly £1,000 in their bank accounts each year under the FIT scheme just makes perfect sense.

It was expected by many, that the government’s review of the scheme would see a downturn in the number of people taking up solar panels. However, as tariffs for smaller installations are likely not to be amended in the near future, this does not appear to be the case.

Many companies in the industry are campaigning that the review be rethought, whilst other experts advise that household tariffs could be reduced with little negative effect.

With initial start up costs coming down and constant technological advances too, it looks like there will be much activity and debate for a good while to come.