Guest Blog

The draft version of The guide to the installation of PV systems, edition 3 has now been published…

Following an MCS meeting on Monday, the plan is to finalise and issue the draft of guide by Monday (3rd October).

The focus of attention over the next few weeks will be on the feed-in tariffs review, particularly once the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) finally publishes the consultation paper.  The belief in the industry, of course, is that the rates for solar PV will be reduced. How much is anyone’s guess, but 25 % seems a popular stab at it.

August wasn’t a particularly good month for some solar PV customers and installers … as two MCS listed module manufacturers headed into bankruptcy. Evergreen Solar filed for bankruptcy earlier in the month and Solyndra announced it had suspended operations and planned to file for bankruptcy as the month closed.

Everyone engaged in property matters will have come across the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, in order to reduce electricity consumption from the grid and to take advantage of Government’s feed- in tariff (FiT) scheme. Social landlords and local authorities are making moves to undertake feasibilities and to commission installations, some with a wary eye on Government’s review of the FiT tariffs in April 2012. A key issue for their feasibility thinking is whether to self-fund installations or to do so via a third party, also known as the ‘rent-a-roof’ option.

We don’t drill and bolt within Sundog Energy, however I have been asked about this a number of times recently.

I am getting quite a few folks asking for a copy of the draft … the story is that we are nearly there but a couple of sections remain that haven’t been looked at yet.

The UK solar industry is booming and is set to expand even more in the coming years. With the cost of energy continuing to rise, domestic and commercial users are looking at alternative forms of savings, generating energy themselves, and with Government incentives enabling owners to earn money by feeding their electricity back into the national grid, renewable energy technologies are proving to be a popular choice.

Sunny Britain has a big vision: to bring solar power to the people. By grouping people from the same area together, residents can benefit from cheaper solar panels on their homes with reliable support and minimum hassle. Through empowering communities to team up as a group, Sunny Britain is able to negotiate savings on the equipment, installation and maintenance from local suppliers which means that people can save up to 50% on the cost of installing solar panels.

Just found out that someone has started a new UK solar PV company with the name Suncat. Now it may be a coincidence, but seems like we could be running into territory best described by the saying “Imitation is the best form of flattery”.