Editor’s Blog

Solar Power UK 2012 is finally over. A stunning 4,500 visitors travelled out to the NEC in Birmingham to come out and support the UK solar industry with over 40 percent of all exhibitors rebooking for next year’s event.

Today saw a record-breaking 1,700 people flood through the gates of Hall Five of the NEC for yet another jam-packed day of UK solar action.

The first day of Solar Power UK has seen over 1,400 visitors, 179 exhibitors, 32 seminars and a whole host of solar announcements take place. Today’s turnout and general levels of optimism amongst attendees proves once more what a resilient industry solar in the UK is becoming.

When Greg Barker introduced the new tri-monthly degression model for the solar industry he promised us that it would prevent industry from “falling victim to boom and bust”. However, the latest installation figures show yet another boom and bust cycle in the aftermath of the August 1 cuts to the feed-in tariff.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.