It’s finally here, after months of planning and preparation the UK’s largest solar-dedicated event kicks off this morning at the NEC in Birmingham. 

Solar is quickly becoming a key component of the UK’s energy outlook. The Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, Greg Barker, has heaped praise on the industry too, stating in his Solar Power UK welcoming notes that: “The scale of deployment in the UK has increased substantially. This growth has been driven by you: by UK installers pushing down their costs and opening up new markets; by new entrepreneurs getting involved; and by existing businesses realising that investing in solar energy makes good business sense. 

“Solar is now commonplace across the nation, and it is fantastic to see this type of renewable energy starting to reach its potential.”

Even the feed-in tariff’s original architect, Ed Miliband, has come out and defended the scheme whilst rubbishing the Coalition Government’s handling of the subsidy cuts in an interview for the BBC

It appears that everyone is talking about solar. No more so than here in Birmingham. The jam-packed seminar series begins with a number of interesting speeches including Alisdair Grainger and Patrick Allcorn from the Department of Energy and Climate Change who will be discussing the feed-in tariff and the newly-introduced domestic RHI in detail. 

If the weather is keeping you off the roof, there is still time to come down to Birmingham, with tickets available at the door.

With over 5,000 people expected to attend, it’s shaping up to the best Solar Power UK yet.