Some customers who have had Solar PV panels installed have noticed their electricity meter runs backwards.

This means they’re receiving free electricity from their energy company.  However, while households may be reluctant to tell their supplier about this some customers have been landed with additional bills retrospectively.

The problem occurs when the electricity generated by the Solar panels is exported to the grid as part of a scheme called the feed-in tariff (which pays people for electricity they produce at home), making the meter run in reverse Read the rest of this entry »

The reliability of Solar photovoltaic installations in the UK is set to improve even further with the launch of a new PV guide and improved standard for the industry.

The new solar PV guide and updated MIS 3002 standard were launched on Friday 8^th February 2013 and its aim is to raise the standard of Solar PV installations in the UK and provide more accurate performance estimates of Solar systems for customers.

It will be the third revision to the ‘Guide to Installation of Photovoltaic Systems’ and is the culmination of two years of work to bring it up to speed with newer technologies and the fast-paced changes in the Read the rest of this entry »

Oxford Photovoltaic (OPV), a spin-out from Oxford University, has received an investment of £2 million from MTI Partners as part of its latest round of funding.

As reported by Solar Power Portal’s sister site Design-Build Solar , the investment will be used to help OPV to commercialize its new Solar cell technology which applies a tiny layer of transparent dye sensitized solid-state Solar cells directly onto glass in a range of colours. These cells are manufactured from inexpensive, abundant, non-toxic and non-corrosive materials and can be scaled to any volume.

The technology is particularly suitable for use in glass building facades. The facades will be able to Read the rest of this entry »

Smart meters are the next generation of gas and electricity meters and they can offer a range of intelligent functions. For example, they can tell you how much energy you are using through a display in your home, and no one will need to come and read your meter because the smart meter can communicate that directly to your energy supplier.

There are significant opportunities for smart meters to help change how people use energy at home and help households stop wasting energy. But simply installing the meters will not, by itself,  lead to major energy savings. The changes need to be supported with policy. Read the rest of this entry »

Over a third of people think making money is not as important as protecting the environment and would install solar PV panels, regardless of the financial benefit.

A Solar comparison website surveyed 2,000 people and found 36% of people would embrace a renewable technology simply out of concern for the environment over slashing their energy bills.

A spokesperson for the energy efficiency specialists said: “The findings suggest a large proportion of people care about the environment more than money, which is wonderful. As it happens Solar panels are a great financial investment too but we suggest that if more people knew more about the environmental benefits of PV, we could see a greater interest in them. This could also provide a great boost to the industry. Read the rest of this entry »

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has generated £22,000 from solar installations across police buildings at Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Gravesend, Deptford, Bromley and Sutton.

The payments were made under the feed-in tariff scheme (FIT) for electricity generated by these installations from December 2011 to September 2012.

Neil Grange, Head of Carbon Management for the Met, said: “We are always looking at ways to become more sustainable and this scheme has the added bonus that we are able to use our roof space and generate an income from Solar energy.

“The Met is a huge organisation and has a duty to reduce its carbon footprint as much as possible.  We are working on a range of projects to that end.”

All FIT eligible Solar PV installations registered after March 2012 are guaranteed the contracted feed in tariff for 20 years.

High tech manufacturers in the Commercial Sector in the UK are considering investing in their own renewable power supplies, particularly solar, to shield themselves from future energy price increases.

A survey of over 400 senior executives in the UK high tech manufacturing sector by multinational GE revealed “high levels of concern” over future UK energy supply, with two thirds of respondents reporting “detrimental” effects on their business from a lack of clarity on energy policy.

The vast majority of survey respondents – 84%  said they were concerned over the future affordability of energy in the UK with the ongoing rising prices that seem to happen yearly.  Some three in five – 61%  expressed concern over the future security of energy supply in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »

Ofgem has confirmed the feed-in tariff (FiT) rates for Solar photovoltaic technology beginning February 1, 2013. The rates will remain the same

The new FiT rates, as of 1 February, 2013, will be as follows:

Read the rest of this entry »

More companies have joined the legal battle seeking damages from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) following its “legally flawed” cuts to the feed-in tariff scheme last year.

The companies claim that the “unlawful and unfair” cuts to the feed-in tariff caused substantial damages to the Solar companies’ respective businesses.

The group is claiming that the cuts made to the feed-in tariff led to a dramatic slump in orders and forced thousands of redundancies across many businesses.  As a result, the companies are seeking around £140 million in damages from the department to cover their loses. Read the rest of this entry »

Ofgem’s Annual Feed in Tariff (FiT) report shows that  Solar PV has once again proven to be a popular technology with the British public, with figures showing for around 99% of all total installs registered under the FiTs scheme from 2011 – 2012.

• The FiT scheme has seen a massive 620% rise in installations from its first year.
• In total, the FiT scheme paid out almost £136 million in generation payments during this period.
• Solar PV’s 244,844 registered systems for that period accounted for just over 90% of the scheme’s total installed capacity, just surpassing the 1GW milestone.
• The next largest contributor in terms of capacity was wind, which saw 54.6MW of capacity installed under the FiT. Read the rest of this entry »