News

As 12.30 fast approaches the UK’s renewable industry is sat wondering if the self-dubbed ‘greenest Government ever’ will live up to our high expectations during the Budget 2011. Before anything official is announced, here are a couple of things I’ll be keeping an eye out for.

Ikaros Solar has set up a UK subsidiary in Technium Springboard in Cwmbran, Wales. Backed by the Welsh Assembly Government through a £500,000 grant from the Single Investment Fund (SIF) over the next three years, Ikaros Solar UK will focus on providing consultancy and solar PV installations for the commercial and business sectors.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) says that the Government’s proposals to cut the level of feed-in tariff incentives available to large-scale solar installations are “ill-judged” and “extremely damaging” to the renewable energy in Britain.

The news we have all been waiting for is finally out, and it’s not good. Greg Barker has revealed the scale of feed-in tariff cuts to what he says are ‘large-scale’ solar installations, and it looks like anything above 50kW is in for a rough deal.

Connected home technology company PassivSystems is to supply Engensa customers with solar photovoltaic monitoring systems. The two companies have signed the deal as part of Engensa’s Street by Street Solar campaign, which aims to supply free solar PV equipment to 100,000 homes across the UK.

In response to the UK Chief Nuclear Inspector’s recently commissioned report into the implications of events at Japanese nuclear reactors on existing and new plants in the UK, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne says we must not “rush to judgment”.

Foresight has announced its intention to finance the completed solar photovoltaic roof installations developed by Our Generation – the energy services company set up in conjunction with Mark Group in 2009. Foresight, which has agreed on a £50M program spread over the next 12 months, will fund the investment from Foresight Solar VCT, which has already raised £20 million from individuals, and from the Foresight Solar EIS, its fourth dedicated solar fund which launched this month.

St. Modwen, the UK-based regeneration specialist, has been granted permission to build a 5MW array of solar panels at an old BP Chemicals works site in Port Talbot. The project, which is expected to cost £15 million, will generate enough clean electricity to power around 1,500 homes a year.

Six UK universities are currently combining forces to develop a portable battery pack for British soldiers that will be powered by solar energy. By replacing the currently-used device the forces’ power packs can be made up to 50% lighter.

Germany-based solar power and heating provider Wagner Solar has appointed Kamil Shah as Marketing Manager of its UK branch, where he will be responsible for setting up the marketing department and driving all promotion and communication activities in the UK. Shah joins Wagner Solar UK from Sanyo, where he was European Corporate Communications Manager.