Ofgem’s Annual Feed in Tariff (FiT) report shows that  Solar PV has once again proven to be a popular technology with the British public, with figures showing for around 99% of all total installs registered under the FiTs scheme from 2011 – 2012.

• The FiT scheme has seen a massive 620% rise in installations from its first year.
• In total, the FiT scheme paid out almost £136 million in generation payments during this period.
• Solar PV’s 244,844 registered systems for that period accounted for just over 90% of the scheme’s total installed capacity, just surpassing the 1GW milestone.
• The next largest contributor in terms of capacity was wind, which saw 54.6MW of capacity installed under the FiT. Read the rest of this entry »

The government is set to release details of the £125 million cash back scheme that it hopes will kick-start interest in its flagship Green Deal energy efficiency programme.

Although final details will not be announced until next week, Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said he hoped the measure would be the first step towards instituting the “sea change” he wants the Green Deal to engender in the UK’s energy efficiency standards.

The Green Deal is due to go live on 28 January, at which point homeowners and businesses will be able to sign the first contracts under the scheme. Read the rest of this entry »

Tip 1- Research

You can do a lot of research on the web with regards to Solar PV. One of the best places to start is the Energy Saving Trust (www.energysavingtrust.org.uk), where you can find a list of Micro generation Certification Scheme (MCS) accredited installers.

You’ll need an MCS accredited installer if you want to claim the FiT  Look for a solid business history and relevant sector experience.

Finally, Solar PV companies should also always supply warranties on both equipment and systems. Read the rest of this entry »