Despite all the benefits energy storage provides to the grid and generators and its integral part in the future of solar PV in the UK, it is not yet a financially viable investment for any distinct part of the value chain.
The Rand Brothers’ farm in Hertfordshire boasts over 3,500 hectares of arable production as well as a huge grain depot that acts as a storage and drying centre for not only the brothers, but also other local farmers and grain merchants.
Depending on who you ask, energy minister Greg Barker’s ambition of 20GW by 2020 is either pie-in-the-sky rhetoric or a critical underestimation of what solar can achieve in the UK.
This week it emerged that no UK homes have yet completed a Green Deal plan since the government’s flagship policy was launched at the start of the year. Charlotte Webster argues that the money spent on publicising the scheme should instead have been spent on communicating the merits of solar power, a positive proposition that suffers from an image problem.
The rush to build large-scale ground-mount projects to qualify for 2-ROCs incentive rate has pushed cumulative UK demand to 2.5GW. NPD Solarbuzz’s Finlay Colville looks at a record quarter for the UK.
Europe’s trade standoff with China has generated countless contradictory rumours. Nilima Choudhury and Peter Bennett look beyond the headlines to ascertain what the EC’s final decision next week will mean for solar
