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Solar Energy UK - Lagging Behind It's Rivals
The UK government has been widely criticised for not pushing renewable energy as much as other countries - such as Germany - to their people to encourage a mass switch to micro-sized renewable systems. Germany has invested nearly £10bn in solar energy PV schemes, and Sweden has made it very attractive for consumers to install heat pumps. Other countries such as Greece and Spain are offering incentives to switch to solar energy.
A micro-scale solar energy revolution would depend on the government stimulating the market with rebate schemes with an attractive financial incentive. And I don't mean for a year or two. For widespread uptake of microgeneration to occur in the UK, sustained policy support will be required. A feed-in tariff scheme, which would reward people who invest in producing their own electricity has been introduced in most European countries, especially in Germany where solar energy has really taken off. Alternative incentives include grants to cover half of the initial costs of equipment and installation. If the UK government subsidised half the cost of some of the technologies, it would save 14m tonnes of carbon emissions a year, or 3% of all emissions. A third option would be to offer discounts in the form of low-interest "soft loans" but this could lead to the life of the loan probably exceeding the life of most power units. One other option is to install the system yourself. This would eliminate a large part of the overall cost. For more information click here. The solar energy industry has called for clear targets which it said would lead to greater certainty for investors and lower costs for consumers. For some easy energy-saving tips go to a great website called
Efficient Energy Saving.
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