News
Solar Trade Association becomes Solar Energy UK
The UK’s solar industry body has today unveiled a comprehensive rebrand, including a new name and website and an annual impact report to demonstrate the value it has driven for its members.
Solar 13
Product
And Now for Something Completely Different
Renewable technologies are constantly evolving, with manufacturers pushing the boundaries in innovation to find new solutions to meet our net zero target.
Opinion
Future of domestic Solar PV?
Oxford PV started life in a lab at Oxford University in 2010, where two men, Professor Henry Snaith and Kevin Arthur, began work on a material known as perovskite. Their initial findings were published in a paper under the bamboozling title: ‘Efficient Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Meso-Superstructured Organometal Halide Perovskites’. It was this information that gave birth to commercial application of perovskite-silicon tandem cell technology for solar pv, which is the focus of the company today.
News
GTEC & MCS win bid to support Green Homes Grant installers
Building services training provider, GTEC, in partnership with the MCS, has won an almost £1M bid to help existing trades people access discounted training in heat pumps and solar thermal, in order to meet the demand presented by the Green Homes Grant (GHG) – the government’s scheme to improve the energy efficiency of UK housing stock.
Feature
Putting installers front & centre in our green recovery
At the recent Solar & Storage 2020 live conference (2-4 Dec), one point that was consistently raised in the webinars was the critical role installers play in the road to net zero.
Feature
New insurance offer to support MCS certified contractors is now live
MCS launches new partnership with the Independent Warranty Association (IWA) to ease access to insurance backed guarantees (IBG)
News
isoenergy owner, Compro Investments, acquires Marlec
Marlec Renewable Power is the oldest renewables company in the UK having been founded in 1978, and now also enjoys an international reputation and distribution network. It specialises in the design, manufacture and sale of micro wind turbines and the distribution of advanced solar PV technology. The company is known for a number of branded products. Its wind turbines are supplied to the marine sector as well as powering rail and road signage often in conjunction with its PV technology.
News
STA disappointed in exclusion of solar from Government’s plan
The Government has today published a 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution. Despite being the most cost-effective electricity generating technology for the foreseeable future according to the Government’s own forecasts, solar was noticeably absent from the Prime Minister’s announcement, which is largely a repackaging of policies already announced earlier this year.
Opinion
Renewables tax reform could boost deployment and provide jobs
A coalition of trade associations representing major British industries including retail, property, construction and technology, has written to the Chancellor to ask that renewable energy technologies such as solar PV and battery storage be excepted from business rates to boost commercial deployment and provide much needed green jobs. [1]
News
STA comments on government response to CCC report
The Government has published its response to the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC) 2020 Progress Report to Parliament, in which it revealed plans for a “comprehensive” Net Zero Strategy in the lead up to COP26. [1]
Feature
New NHBC Foundation guide for New Homes Without Gas
This standard aims to significantly reduce the energy use of new homes and marks the beginning of the end for the traditional gas boiler.
Opinion
NHBC Foundation explores implications of building low-energy homes
Current government proposals indicate that from 2025, newly built homes will not be allowed to be heated with the use of fossil fuels under the ‘Future Homes Standard’. This standard aims to significantly reduce the energy use of new homes and marks the beginning of the end for the traditional gas boiler.
Feature
MCS support certified contractors with new insurance offer
MCS have collaborated with the Independent Warranty Association (IWA) and undertaken system development to enable contractors to raise an IBG for their consumer at the point of raising the MCS certificate for an installation.
News
Renewables installers call for extension to the Green Homes Grant
A survey conducted by MCS has revealed that almost half of their certified contractors believe that the Green Homes Grant should be extended to 18 months or more.
News
MCS launches new Solar PV Standard as domestic installations remain buoyant
National certification scheme MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) has published a new update of their Solar PV Standard. The timely new standard comes as strong signs of recovery can be seen after a turbulent 18-months for Solar PV installers.
News
Trade associations unite to boost green economic recovery
The following trade associations, techUK, the Solar Trade Association and RenewableUK, have announced a new partnership to promote the transition to a net zero economy.
News
Solar PV forecast as cheapest power generating technology in UK
New Government figures indicate large-scale solar will be lowest cost deploy and maintain over the next two decades.
News
‘Skills for climate’ consultation launched
A new consultation has been launched to establish if the UK has the necessary skills base to deliver a low carbon economy over the coming years.
Opinion
Vaillant: “More to be done beyond Green Homes Grant to support low carbon heating”
Following the government’s provision of further detail on the £2 billion Green Homes Grant to improve energy efficiency of homes and stimulate the economy after lockdown, Mark Wilkins, head of training and external affairs at Vaillant, comments;
News
Solar thermal given boost in STA policy win
Homeowners in England will be entitled to vouchers to install the technology under the Green Homes Grants scheme.
News
MCS quality assurance at heart of Green Homes Grants
The latest government update opening the new Green Homes Grant scheme up to domestic renewable technology installations including Heat Pumps and Solar Thermal, places MCS certified contractors at its core to ensure quality.
News
Domestic renewable installations more than double
The early signs of recovery witnessed in the UK’s domestic renewable energy installation market has positively continued into June as the country continues to emerge from lockdown.
News
MCS hits back at Clean Heat Grant proposals
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) has called for a review of the limited £100 million funding that government has provisionally made available for its proposed Clean Heat Grant scheme (CHGS).
News
Chancellor’s summer statement ‘a good first step’ to green recovery
With a full Budget to follow in the Autumn, Sunak said that the government wanted to deliver an economic stimulus package with “the environment at its heart”.