Financial consultants Ernst & Young have rated the UK as the fifth most popular country to invest in as a result of the Energy Bill which was passed in November according to their Renewable energy country attractiveness indices.

Britain’s rise to joint fifth with Spain has been attributed to recent legislation which specifically sets out provisions for the introduction of Feed-in tariffs by 2010. Feed-in tariffs are fundamental to investors as they guarantee a premium fixed rate for energy fed back into the national grid by small, renewable energy producers.

Also, acting as an important stimulus for investors is the falling value of Pound Sterling which is predicted to reach parity with the Euro in the new year.UK renewable projects increasingly expensive as imported technologies from Europe continue to rise as a result of the exchange rate.

“The falling value of the pound is making

“The declining price of oil is compounding the problem by reducing project revenues as wholesale energy prices fall, resulting in many projects becoming uneconomical. It is unlikely that falling commodity prices such as steel and copper will compensate enough” predicts Head of renewable energy at Ernst & Young, Jonathan Johns.

The recent Renewable energy country attractiveness indices saw Germany reach first position as a target for investors and is now seen as the leading light in terms of viable renewable energy innovations.

Lord Hunt has announced that the government will roll out smart meters over the next 10 years in order to help the UK meet targets set out in the Energy Bill. Smart meters are considered to be fundamental to the introduction of feed-in tariffs whereby the small renewable energy producers will be paid a premium rate for energy they feed back into the national grid.

Lord Hunt, announcing the roll out said, “This is a major step forward; no other country in the world has moved to an electricity and gas smart meter roll-out on this scale.

“We anticipate a period of around two years to resolve the issues and to design the full detail of a domestic roll-out. Our aim is then to ensure that the subsequent roll-out happens over a period of 10 years. This would see delivery of smart meters by the end of 2020 to align with our renewables targets,” added Hunt.

Conservative peer Baroness Wilcox, who prompted the government announcement on smart meters, welcomed the decision to introduce smart meters across the country, commenting,

“Smart meters are not only critical for energy savings at home but will soon be inextricably linked with the feed-in tariff. The government are as alert as we are to the fact that we in this country are very late in protecting our energy supply and energy usage, but this concession by them is a great step forward.”

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the heads of the worlds leading solar companies have met in Poznan, Poland to discuss the development and implementation of global policies designed to help the growth of the solar industry internationally and to lead the way in the reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHC) in order to meet climate goals.

Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s Chairman and CEO, Jeremy Leggett, Executive Chairman of Solarcentury, Mike Ahearn, Chairman and CEO of First Solar, and Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director strongly advocated solar energy as a viable energy production solution which should be taken up by governments around the globe:

“Solar technology is no longer a niche energy solution, but is already reaching the scale and cost points to fundamentally change the way we generate electricity. As a result of substantial investments over the past 5 years, the solar industry has dramatically improved solar technologies and established roadmaps for further cost reductions. In fact, electricity generated from solar installations is already reaching parity with peak energy and retail energy prices in many regions.”

The conference concluded that the following objectives are the key to meeting GHG- reduction and economic-development goals:

·          Stringent, ambitious, international and national carbon regulation policies

·          Enforceable renewables mandates with a solar carve out or credit multiplier for solar energy

·          Near-term incentives that could include feed-in tariffs, partial rebates, tax credits and/or property-based loans

·          Favourable net metering, interconnection, permitting and land-use policies.

The recent UK Energy Bill will certainly have pleased the consortium as it gives provisions for the implementation of feed-in tariffs by 2010 which are seen as being fundamental to the setting up of a coherent renewable energy solution. The plans are for the government to guarantee a fixed, premium rate for energy fed back into the national grid by small, renewable energy producers and will be essential to the UK meeting its climate change goals.

Germany added further credence to the Feed-in Tariff system at the Sydney Energy convention last month by asserting that their success in the renewable energy sector has been based on Government legislation there which promotes investment in renewables.

The payment of premium rates for energy supplied to the national grid by the German Government combined with decades of green issues being pushed to the fore in Scandinavia and northern Europe has seen Germany become a world leader in the field of Solar and Wind energy. This will certainly come as a boost to environmental groups in the UK where important government legislation, passed at the end of November will see the UK compete in this area by 2010.

In the UK a number of initiatives have been taken, including the installation of industrial wind turbines in public spaces such as supermarkets and petrol stations. It is widely believed that when more ‘solar-rich’ states such as Australia and South Africa put their weight behind the Feed-in Tariff system, there could be no limit to its success across the globe.