Editor’s Blog

In the UK, approximately 45 percent of carbon emissions come from buildings. More specifically, these emissions are escaping from our energy inefficient homes. Clearly, something needs to be done about this problem as our legally binding carbon targets creep ever closer. The question is: what will that “something” be?

The embryonic electric vehicle (EV) market is often derided as an impractical solution to a complex problem or whose importance is recognised but current cost and technological short-comings prohibit its wide-scale adoption. Sound familiar?

The UK solar industry could be accused of being deeply cynical towards the Department of Energy and Climate Change and with good reason. Numerous mishandlings of the feed-in tariff scheme have led to various boom and bust scenarios over the last couple of years but, more importantly, deep cuts have left people without jobs.

Increased media appetite for criticising renewables would have you believe that green technologies are causing household bills to escalate but what’s the real reason?

Travelling from London to South Wales you’d expect the weather to take a turn for the worst as you exit the Severn Bridge (or Pont Hafren for our Welsh-speaking readers). Yesterday, however…

Tomorrow DECC will publish its long-anticipated response to the consultation on its controversial cuts to the solar feed-in tariff rate,  mapping out the future route of the solar industry.

The Court of Appeal’s decision may open the door for another surge in orders for the UK market, but can the global market meet the demand?

Yesterday morning we uncovered the news that Government was set to lock in the future of the UK solar industry by publishing what feed-in tariff rates will look like until at least April 1, 2012. Offering some much-needed, long-awaited, certainty to our extremely frustrated industry, the announcement has brought a welcome…

As soon as DECC announced its intention to reduce feed-in tariff payments by more than 50 percent, with a cut-off date of December 12, the UK solar industry sprung into action. Some begun campaigning against the proposal, claiming it would damage the future of UK solar beyond repair, while most others prepared to work 24 hour days to complete projects before the cut-off point. Now, with more than 126MW added in on week alone, we face…

As New Year arrived I’m sure many of you reading this will have joined me in a collective sigh of relief as we left the turbulent UK solar industry of 2011 behind, looking forward to a more positive and (with any luck) stable market in 2012. But, at this time of great uncertainty, what really lies ahead?