The UK solar industry has had a few major ups and downs in the past few weeks, with first a record amount of energy production at around 15% of the UK’s usage in July, and then the subsidy cuts, which will effectively reduce the amount of money small systems can make from installing solar, it’s easy to say that it’s been a rollercoaster, and it’s easy to see why. When the Department of Energy and Climate Change made the same…
Japan recently unveiled the largest floating solar panel system in the world. Located at Hyogo Prefecture in Western Japan, this floating solar farm produces 2.3 MW and can power 820 homes. It positions Japan at the forefront of aquatic based solar panels. Other countries are quickly catching up though, especially as the benefits of this technology become more apparent. The Production Process The panels for the Hyogo Prefecture project were made by a Japanese electronics corporation called Kyocera. They’re responsible…
Utility bills are constantly on the rise, and even if you have a solar installation, you likely feed a great deal of the power back into the grid. In fact, the average home with a 4 kW solar system feeds some 1,500-1,600 kWh to the grid. While that’s reasonable, and even a good deal, especially if you’re not using it anyway, you’re typically getting less for power you feed into the grid than you pay for it. While export tariffs are…
The recently proposed changes to the FIT rate (Feed in Tariff) a predicted to reduce the FIT tariff as of January 1 2016, but, despite reduced rates, homeowners can still benefit from solar panels. While the Feed in Tariff is set to drop dramatically, by a now total of 87% since the launch of the program five years ago, you will still get some income from the tariff, and you will still benefit in other ways. If you’re wondering why…
The State for Energy and Climate Change proposed massive cuts the subsidies for both commercial and domestic solar installations in an effort to save money for the government, but recent studies show that it could do anything but. The subsidy reductions, which are set to prevent the UK from going nearly £1.5 billion over budget by 2020, have already reduced the UK’s solar market. The effect has been noticeable, as the UK is out of the Ernst & Young Renewable…
With the widespread reduction of first solar subsidies for commercial solar installations in June, and on August 27th, for domestic systems, the British government is trying to withdraw nearly 90% of support for solar panels. With domestic subsidies set to drop to a total of some 87% lower than at their induction 5 years ago, around 958,000 homes will no longer be able to afford solar panels at their current rates. June reductions to commercial subsidy rates have already seen…
It’s time for nuclear and coal to step aside, there are some new players on the energy stage. As fossil fuels run out, and carbon emissions warm the earth, renewable energy is going to become even more important. The average consumer stands to benefit as well. As technology improves, energy from renewable sources is becoming cheaper than energy generated using outdated methods. That’s good news for you, for me, and for the planet. Lets check out some of the…
On August 9th, Nottingham switched on the largest solar carport in the UK as part of a green energy program. The carport was installed by Flexisolar, and features some 448 solar panels, or enough to generate the power for over 20 homes. The estimated output of the solar panels is 55.7Mw per year, which could generate more than £10,000 in revenue per year. The energy will be used for lights, powering electric cars, and powering the leisure center, with excess…
Statistics released by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on the morning of August 4th revealed that solar power is the most popular renewable energy with today’s public. With some 81% of surveyees saying that they support solar installations and only 6% saying that they didn’t, solar comes in as more popular than every other renewable, by nearly 20% over the next most popular renewable, wave and tidal energy. Despite recent cuts by the DECC, which will end subsidies for…
The Energy and Climate Change have made cuts to the renewable energy subsidy, which will be ending a year early, which has many people discussing whether renewables like solar are too expensive, or not reliable enough to compete with fuel or biomass power. While energy company Drax, who provide some 7-8% of the UK’s power express clear disapproval of solar while promoting their own biomass, solar has its own benefits in terms of a low carbon footprint and increasingly lower prices…