News 150
Despite the government’s proposed halving of Feed-In Tariff (FiT) payments for solar installations, Leeds-based Oakapple Renewable Energy has confirmed that it is still forging ahead with its £100 million investment in the sector.
According to Ecovision, recent headline-grabbing changes to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) have left the consumer in the dark. It is now more critical than ever to restore consumer confidence and provide an accurate calculation of the financial benefits of installing solar PV.
Burnley firm Solarlec has launched a legal challenge against the government after it announced urgent plans to slash subsidies paid to consumers who generate their own renewable energy.
The latest independent Customer Satisfaction Report from uSwitch.com reveals that just a year after reaching an all-time high, satisfaction with energy suppliers has plunged back to a low. All of Britain’s big six energy suppliers have seen a drop in the number of customers satisfied after a year of price hikes, fines and turbulence in the energy market takes its toll:
Wholesale electricity prices will rise by at least 40 per cent over the next ten years, according to a survey of leading industry figures.
More than 90 per cent of those questioned in the survey to mark the 10th anniversary of independent generation consolidator SmartestEnergy said they believed prices in 2021 will be higher in real terms than in 2011. Fewer than one in ten respondents said they expected wholesale prices to be the same or lower.
Friends of the Earth is taking the government to court over its plans to slash financial incentives for households and communities that install solar electricity, the environmental campaigning charity confirmed today after Ministers failed to respond to concerns it set out in a legal letter last week.
Houghton’s new £21m Primary Care Centre is now open to the public. The fourth centre of its kind to be built in Sunderland, has been developed by NHS South of Tyne and Wear, working on behalf of Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) and will improve access to health services for local communities.
The Co-operative Bank’s steadfast support for business was underlined today by new figures showing it has lent more than half a billion pounds to renewable energy projects since 2007.
The head of the UK’s biggest business lobby group has accused the UK government of scoring an “own goal” with plans to halve the Feed-in Tariff from December 12.
Cheshire-based JPCS has become the first in its sector to receive a UK Excellence Award from the British Quality Foundation for its products and services.
As the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced a reduction in the Feed-in Tariff’ (FiT) last week (31 October 2011), Peter Searancke, managing director of Leicester-based Intelligent Energy Solutions, advises consumers that this is the right time to make the switch to solar energy, as the current subsidy is fixed for 25 years. The need to switch now is even more pertinent particularly with traditional energy suppliers predicting increases of up to 15 per cent as winter looms. Currently, homeowners who have had small scale solar panels installed receive a FiT subsidy of 43p per kWh but this is set to decrease to 21p per kWh, with effect from 12 December 2011. Whilst the reduction is not as dramatic as many industry experts had feared, some had predicted a drop as low as 9p per kWh, it is still likely to prompt a pre-Christmas ‘rush’ as households look to secure a premium price for the next quarter of a century.
Scottish small wind turbine manufacturer Gaia-Wind today has bagged a winning double. The company has been listed as one of the fastest growing ‘cleantech’ companies in Europe and shortlisted for the Scottish Renewables Green Energy Award for business growth.
Antaris Solar, solar technology provider with headquarters in Germany, has been selected as the PV affinity partner by NICEIC. The partnership brings together German quality with the standards of UK’s leading voluntary body for electrical installation matters.
The Alumet Group have picked up the Green Manufacturer of the Year Award. In front of a range of manufacturing businesses at the first Made in the Midlands Awards Gala, the Warwickshire-based organisation collected the award from Michael Portillo, fighting off competition from the likes of Denso Manufacturing and Synseal Extrusions.
Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, has today called upon the European Commission to investigate whether the UK government’s proposal to drastically slash the solar Feed-in-Tariff will weaken the UK’s ability to meet legally binding EU targets on renewable energy.
After confirming plans to halve the current domestic Feed-In-Tariff (FiT) from 43p per kWh to 21p per kWh, the ministerial statement made by Greg Barker MP on the 31st October 2011 has been met with widespread pessimism, despite the ongoing consultation which will close on the 23rd December 2011. NAPIT fears that this looming deadline could jeopardise the quality levels previously delivered by the scheme.
Cow poo and grass are the main ingredients for cooking up new high efficiency power.
New research shows that over half of British companies in the solar industry will slash their workforce by over 50 per cent due to cuts to Feed-in Tariffs announced by the UK government, which are to start in December 2011. Stephen Hill, partner at international law firm Eversheds comments: “Whilst a change in the tariff rate has been expected within the industry, the nature and speed in which it is proposed to be implemented has devastated the sector. The back dated nature of the procedure by which the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is pushing this through is unique and leaves the UK government highly exposed to a potential claim for judicial review by participants in the industry. The uncertain nature of the consultation will affect thousands of jobs in this nascent green industry and affects the government’s credibility for all renewable projects.”
GB-Sol’s managing director Bruce Cross
A manufacturer and solar pioneer has spoken out about the government Feed-in Tariff cuts, just as the UK had put faith into sustainable opportunities from solar energy.
The coalition government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for new solar PV installations cut could lead to comeback for solar thermal sales, according to one of UK’s leading manufacturers of heating equipment.
Kingspan Renewables has announced the launch of a 6KW and 3KW wind turbine, based on the Proven Energy small wind turbine technology. Kingspan Renewables has a well established position in renewable energy products with its Thermomax and Varisol solar thermal vacuum tube collectors, along with its flat plate and heat pump products.
In response to the government’s sudden and unexpected decision to fast-track solar tariff cuts, many companies involved in the provision of solar PV systems are desperate to complete as many installations as possible to ensure customers receive the old tariff.
The European Commission is to study the UK’s planned December cuts to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and the likely effects on the nation’s obligationsunder its Renewable Roadmap.
A short new documentary-style film exploring the use of renewables technologies in all types of buildings ‘where we live and work’ has been produced by Dimplex, the authority in renewables and electric heating market leader.