Solar Feed In Tariff Website

Engineers are calling on the Government to increase the remit of the Green Investment Bank. The Coalition has signalled their intent to direct the Bank’s fund towards investment in low carbon technology. But, Europe’s largest professional group of engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), is arguing that the Bank should also support energy efficiency innovations in the manufacturing sector.

The investment mandate for the Bank is to deliver the Government’s aims on economic growth, facilitate the transition to a green economy and support the UK’s industrial transformation. Much of the focus to date has been on investment in the manufacture of low carbon goods and the rollout of green infrastructure.

Dr Tony Whitehead, Director of Policy at the IET said: “Energy conservation and efficiency should be amongst the first priorities of a sustainable energy policy.

“Energy is set to become increasingly expensive in the future, and to survive in the global market, UK firms will not only need to produce new products, but to produce them at competitive prices. This means driving costs down wherever possible.

“The manufacture of low carbon technology is often seen as a panacea to meet the UK’s carbon reduction requirements whilst at the same time creating a renaissance in UK manufacturing. Yet the manufacture of low carbon goods is not in itself automatically green. A green industrial revolution should first focus on greening manufacturing processes to reduce energy and resource use.

“For the UK to achieve its targets on carbon emissions there needs to be extra support for green manufacturing processes. Energy conservation and efficiency in the manufacturing sector should be a priority for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and more widely across government.

“In addition, access to the Green Investment Bank by SMEs will be paramount. SMEs are able to develop and commercialise products rapidly in niche areas. By its very nature, green technology and processes will require innovative solutions; an area where SMEs can develop a competitive advantage for UK plc. SMEs should have priority access to the Green Investment Bank to spur green growth and technology.”

Tags: Dr Tony Whitehea, government, green investment bank, IET, SMEs

The UK feed-in-tariff announcement has generated a lot of interest in solar energy for homeowners. But what of the interest for organisations such as farms, businesses or local communities?

Some in the press have criticised the government’s proposed feed in tariff plans because they do not offer specific incentives to businesses as well as private individuals.

I would argue that the feed in tariff as it stands applies equally well to enterprises as it does homeowners. Businesses are often able to think longer term about investments. The incentives for installations above 50kW are still attractive for commercial roofspaces, especially if businesses use the electricity they generate for themselves, meaning that installing solar would be a prudent investment to have on a balance sheet. That is not to mention the kudos that comes with being a net exporter of green electricity.

In Germany the commercial rooftop segment of the market is the largest by volume, and with a feed in tariff pricing that now looks rather similar to the UK’s. We may therefore expect that companies start to explore using their roof space for PV. In fact if they haven’t thought of it yet, someone else will soon be approaching them with an offer.

That’s not to say the governments plans are flawless however. The UK is still pitifully behind the rest of Europe when it comes to renewable energy generation and particularly microgeneration.

Still lurking in government policy the ridiculously low target of 2 percent of energy coming from microgeneration by 2020. This is incomprehensible given that Germany is already at 4 percent from solar and other countries like Denmark with biomass gain nearly 40 percent from microgen. Surely this target must be revised!

Speaking as a professional in the global solar industry, the new UK feed in tariff has put us on the radar (a bit). Rather than smirking when I mention the potential for solar in the UK, my colleagues are now starting to take some interest…

Tags: Energy Bill, feed in tariff, FIT, government, microgeneration, photovoltaic, PV, renewable energy, solar, solar energy, Solar Feed In Tariff, solar fit, solar industry, solar investment, solar panels, solar power, UK, UK Government