Jim Mellon, the financier who predicted the current world financial crisis two years before it happened has given his weighty support to solar energy as both a means of replacing fossil fuels and of creating healthy yields for investors. In a recent rich list compiled by The Times newspaper, they made special mention of entrepreneurs who have branched out in to renewable investment. Among these, Jim Mellon features highly because of his reputation as a man with a track record of forecasting market trends twinned with a portfolio of shrewd investments.

Mellon, based in the Isle of Man and with a net worth of around £500m is established as one of the largest employers on the island and although some of his assets have come under pressure from the international financial crisis, he continues to look towards renewables as the future.

Jim Mellon was quoted in The Times as saying,

“Solar is genuinely clean, it ticks all sorts of zeitgeist boxes. Within five years, solar power will be as cheap as oil and gas without the subsidy,” adding that, “It will be bigger than the internet in five years”

Mellon backed up his words last summer by investing in a mining company called Emerging Metals which focuses on metals used in the manufacture of the latest photovoltaic technology. It is believed that in 2010, with the introduction of the feed-in tariff in the UK, there will be a boom in solar investment as the government will guarantee premium rates for megawatts generated by small solar and other renewable producers. Leading entrepreneurs on the rich list have already made this connection and are starting to back renewables before they boom.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Center for Alternative Technology (CAT), the majority of British households would consider adopting photovoltaic technology with 90 per cent saying that they would consider and 23 per cent saying that they would definitely adopt the technology in their homes. From the 750 homes which were surveyed, the results show a shift in general public opinion towards the practical application of renewable technology, especially if it is something which proves to be financially viable in the long term.

The long term financial viability of all small-scale renewable projects hinges largely on the upcoming Feed-in tariff, likely to be introduced in 2010. The principle of the tariff is to offset the expense of producing power by non-fossil fuel means and provide incentives to those wishing to invest in renewable plant such as photovoltaic technology. The fixed rate for megawatts fed-in to the national grid by small scale renewable power producers is paid for by existing power companies who are obliged by the government to buy the renewable megawatts, the cost of which is spread across the consumers.

The survey noted that this high potential take up of PV technology would be dependent on the feed-in tariff paying 50p per unit of energy supplied in to the grid. In Germany, this exact system of tariffs has been used successfully to make Germany one of the worlds leaders both in terms of PV technology adoption and public awareness of greener energy production.

CAT spokesman, Mark Watson commented,

“Photovoltaic systems are one of the easiest renewable energy technologies to integrate in towns and cities and as the survey results show, they are generally liked by the general public.”