A new Committee on Climate Change (CCC) report on the future of home energy efficiency has attracted criticism after it failed to mention solar PV. The report, released last week, says the government must act immediately to improve the quality of the UK’s housing stock and advises that no new homes should be connected to the gas grid from 2025 if the UK is to meet its emissions reduction targets. However the committee’s failure to include solar technologies as an alternative to gas and other energy sources has been criticised. The STA points to academic analysis that highlights the central role of solar PV and solar thermal in delivering Zero Energy Buildings, with over 900,000 homes in the UK having solar PV installed, and 200,000 with solar thermal. STA chief executive Chris Hewett said while it welcomed the report, the trade body was concerned about the lack of consideration of solar technologies.
Solar Power Portal 25th Feb 2019 read more »
Solar Together London is the mayor’s new group buying solar scheme, and almost 5,000 households have already registered across just 11 boroughs. When low-carbon energy is accessible and affordable, take up increases, and the resulting economies of scale reduces cost even further. A lack of support for small-scale low-carbon energy generation will prevent Londoners from fully benefitting from solar, despite there being a high demand for it. However, the cost of installing renewables is a barrier for many households, despite the fact they will result in lower long-term energy bills. For example, even though the cost per watt of solar installation has fallen dramatically with technological advances, the upfront capital cost of installing solar PV is still fairly high (around £4,000-£6,000 for a typical family home in the UK). That’s why it’s so important that the mayor has implemented his Solar Action Plan and Fuel Poverty Action Plan, as part of a £34m investment in programmes such as the London Community Energy Fund and Solar Together London that are demonstrating the positive impact on uptake of renewables that subsidies can have.
City Metric 25th Feb 2019 read more »
