Solar Media Staff

The new Conservative government has been in power for less than three months but has already announced a tranche of anti-green policies and undermined investor confidence in the sector, precisely what the renewables industry pleaded with it not to do prior to the general election.

Energy storage can become a “significant” component for future balancing of the National Grid, but must overcome policy challenges if it is to realise its potential.

Cheltenham-based legal firm BPE Solicitors has launched a new team which will work exclusively within the renewable energy industry.

Solar capacity in the UK could reach 18GW by 2020, and could soar to even higher levels if policy support for other technologies is diverted to solar in the wake of policy changes according to the latest Future Energy Scenarios report issued by the National Grid.

Nordic energy giant Vattenfall is aiming to install a 5MW solar array at the site of its Parc Cynog wind farm in Camarthenshire, 14 years after the location was first redeveloped.

Normally, when an industry shifts from cottage to mainstream, the companies that held lead positions in the early days are rarely the ones on top several years down the line. You can look at almost any industry or sector for clear examples of this, going back as far as you want.

Bluefield European Solar Fund (BESF), a new solar investment vehicle to be advised by Bluefield Partners, has announced its intention to list on the London Stock Exchange and raise €200 million (£142 million) for PV acquisitions.

Amber Rudd, the secretary of state for energy and climate change, has warned that the government is “looking carefully” at solar subsidies as a result of budgetary overspend.

Criticism of the government’s recent decisions over green initiatives has showed no sign of abating after it was rounded upon for deciding not to proceed with the zero carbon Allowable Solutions scheme.

A trio of prisons in Scotland are to receive rooftop solar installations this week after installer Campbell & Kennedy won a tender process started at the end of March.