Opinions

Since the feed-in tariff began, domestic PV installers looking to maximise returns for their customers have normally installed to a 4kWp ceiling.

In his latest blog, Martin Cotterell looks at the various methods that installers can employ to identify problems with an installed system.

The countdown to the Solar Power Portal awards has begun, with the awards dinner just two weeks away – time to get excited.

Within the second part of this new two-part feature on the UK solar PV industry, vice-president of NPD Solarbuzz, Finlay Colville, reviews the detailed breakdown of the 802MW of new PV capacity added in the UK during the first half of 2013 (1H 2013). This includes segmentation by geography and installation size/type (residential, non-residential, large and small commercial and different size categories for ground-mount installations)

Andy Colthorpe explores the difficulties in persuading NIMBYs that solar farms offer a real boost to local conservation efforts

Gertjan van der Goot delves into the latest pricing data from CompareMySolar to determine the emerging trends in UK residential solar pricing. Looking at prices from over 50 UK solar installers it appears prices are edging closer together, and have certainly increased from previous record lows.

In the first of a two-part feature, Finlay Colville, discusses the progress within the UK PV industry over the first six months of 2013. Colville confirms the new PV capacity added in the UK during 1H’13 and how this compares to global PV installations and prior first-half periods in the UK back to 2010.

Solar farms are great places for nature.And they are all set to become even better places in the future.

The growing number of negative press headlines about solar farms could be dismissed as nimbyism, but equally they could be early signs of a publish backlash against large PV developments. Solar needs to work hard to maintain the public’s goodwill and avoid the same fate as wind energy.

Morrison’s 2MW PV array highlights the challenges of large-scale roof-mounted solar