Blogs

The call for solar panels has significantly reduced in the UK since Government announced feed-in tariff cuts. That’s a fact. While at one time installers’ phones were ringing off the hook while they worked seven-day weeks, now, just a few months later many are struggling to fill their weeks. Industry has come up with several reasons for this dip in demand, yet the most frequent culprit appears to be negative press.

All investors are looking for high returns and minimal risk. Solar PV in the UK can be considered as such a good investment in the UK; indeed, its characteristics are compelling for investors and consumers alike. With guaranteed index-linked, tax free feed-in tariff payments for at least 20 years, onsite renewable energy generation, lower energy bills and reduced carbon emissions one would expect thousands of people to be waiting in the queue for a system and all installers to be booked out. But the opposite is the case. There is little demand in the whole market. All installers are lowering their prices hoping to attract customers, but the demand is almost not picking up. This blog post examines why this is the case.

I attended the launch at the Local Government Association (LGA) on May 17 for the new guidance by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) for local authorities. It is titled How Local Authorities Can Reduce Emissions and Manage Climate Risk and was published the same day.

Since yesterday’s feed-in tariff bomb was dropped in the House of Commons by the now-infamous Minister of State Greg Barker, there has been a lot of squabbling in the UK solar industry. A large majority were pleased with the results of the consultation, while others continued to berate Government with their now worn torrent of abuse.

It’s easy to get swept up in the hysteria surrounding the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s handling of solar PV feed-in tariff rates. What seemed like a drastic cut was rushed through undoubtedly too quick and, as a result, industry was left reeling. However, we must remember that industry also managed to mobilise in spectacular fashion to install an incredible 380MW in the six-weeks running up to December 12.

God bless Conservative MP Tim Yeo for speaking truth to power, in a month when leaders of the UK renewables industry showed signs of weakening in that resolve.

For quite some time I have been puzzled as to the passivity of the whole of the electricity supply industry over what is coming down the tracks on Electricity Market Reform (EMR).

The general malaise engulfing the solar industry at the moment is challenging. It is tempting to blame the current stagnation on Governmental policies. After all, solar has been forced to swallow swingeing feed-in tariff cuts paired with prohibitive new EPC requirements that have constricted the market.

Fairly understandably, I am getting a large number of enquires on the likely publication date for Edition 3 of the solar PV installation guide. The short answer is that I don’t know – but there is an MCS PV working group this Thursday that will hopefully provide the answer.

IEC 62446 Grid connected PV systems – minimum requirements for system documentation, commissioning tests and inspection.