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Humans have always made use of solar energy. When man’s earliest ancestor realised that a patch of sunlight was warmer than the shade, or that rocks heated all day by the sun remained warm long into the night, solar energy was being used.

So here we go again. Government has announced that feed-in tariff levels for solar PV installations are to be reduced again effective from the August 1. At first sight, this would appear to make installation of a solar roof unviable. But that isn’t the case, for two key reasons.

The first of the tri-monthly degression cuts to the feed-in tariff (FiT) is almost upon us. From Wednesday, all <4kW systems installed will receive 16p/kWh – a 63 percent drop in subsidy level since December 2011. Under the new framework, FiT rates will continue to tumble at regular intervals. To the casual observer, solar is getting less and less attractive.

The fallout from the FiT fiasco last year saw many solar PV projects cancelled. However, after PV costs reduced by 50 percent last year and a further 30 percent this year, have you been too quick to cancel the project?

Ever since the feed-in tariff rate was axed in half from 43p to 21p the industry has been plagued by chronic confusion in the marketplace. Legal wranglings, deadlines, extensions; it was hard enough to keep on top of market developments for solar companies, let alone customers.

“Feed-in tariff cuts ‘will kill solar industry stone dead’ ” shouted the headline in the Guardian way back in October when the Government announced its solar subsidies strategy. Fast forward nine months and the solar energy market, although battered and bruised, still offers one of the most viable investments around today.

The latter months of 2011 and first half of 2012 saw global investment in renewable energy reach new, unprecedented heights. Solar power has now surpassed wind power as the most popular renewable technology for investment and here in the UK our solar market emerged onto the international photovoltaic (PV) scene thanks to the tried and tested method of feed-in tariff (FiT) reduction.

One of the most popular events occurring on the fringe of the Intersolar PV show in Munich last week was a half-day session on the future prospects for PV deployment within the UK,organized by Solar Media, Ltd. under the banner of Doing Solar Business in the UK.

This morning at 9am the doors opened for the first day of the Intersolar EU 2012 exhibition and, despite the rain, the visitors flocked in their thousands.

Ok so we really are nearly finished! The work depends on a lot of input from others – and while Griff and I can do so much, the peaks and troughs of the Solar PV market over the last few months has really impacted on getting all the various bits of information and feedback back to us. It’s been a very frustrating time for all concerned – but the end is in sight.