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Good news on grants and feed-in tariffs
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Good Energy rewards renewable heat generators
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 3rd February 2009 at 10:42 am
Solar thermal panels to heat your water just got more attractive with the launch of Good Energy's renewable heat incentive, or HotROC, contract. This means that customers who generate heat or hot water from renewable sources are paid for the energy they create. This is a first step towards putting t…
Posted in: Biomass, Combined heat & power, Solar heat & hot water
Microgeneration high among Tory proposals
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st January 2009 at 9:07 am
Large scale use of renewables are part of the Conservative party's plans for a low carbon economy published last week. With a feed-in tariff, they hope homes, businesses, schools and hospitals will contribute the electricity they produce into the national grid, earning money in the process. To m…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Renewable energy grants still available
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th January 2009 at 9:23 am
Homeowners who want to install energy generating equipment such as solar panels, wind turbines or biomass boilers will be able to apply for grants until June 2010. It is anticipated that a feed-in tariff should be in place by then, which will incentivise homeowners and communities to invest in micro…
Posted in: General
Blueprint for feed-in tariffs proposed by industry
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 30th March 2009 at 11:58 am
The renewable energy industry presented its proposals for how feed-in tariffs could best be introduced to energy minister Mike O’Brien last week. Last year’s Energy Act outlined plans for a feed-in tariff to pay microgenerators for the electricity and heat that they produce from April 2010. The …
Posted in: General
Will feed in tariffs deliver for us?
Posted by Matthew Rhodes on 27th March 2009 at 7:38 am
I spent most of yesterday at a conference about feed in tariffs, the new incentive mechanism proposed for renewable energy technologies from next April (2010) to replace the existing grant regime. It was organised by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) It is encouraging to see the government …
Posted in: General
PV shipments grow as community grants dry up
Posted by Graham Eastwick on 18th March 2009 at 10:29 am
Shipments of photovoltaic (PV) panels (solar electricity) are growing year on year at a rapid rate around the world. Much of this is driven by multi-MW PV farms or so called Solar Parks. These require large areas of land and are best suited to sunnier climes and places where land is more available. …
Posted in: Solar electricity
What size and type of turbine is most suitable for my site?
Posted by Graham Eastwick on 26th June 2009 at 10:28 am
Choosing the best wind turbine for your site will depend on a number of factors. The first thing is to determine if you have enough wind. A national database of wind speeds is available and will give you an indication of the wind speed at your home. This can be accessed fr…
Posted in: Wind turbines
What the renewable energy strategy and low carbon transition plan mean for your home
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th July 2009 at 3:01 pm
Households are expected to make cuts in their carbon emissions of 29% by 2020 according to the Government's Low Carbon Transition Plan, announced by Ed Miliband last week (houses currently emit more than a third of the UK's carbon). This will be done through a combination of cutting the amount o…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Solar panels have never been so attractive
Posted by Chris Rudge on 10th August 2009 at 10:50 am
With the feed-in tariff due to start in April 2010 (after a short consultation period to October) the benefits of installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system on our houses before the end of the 2009 are probably better than we will ever have again. Simply put, if you have a PV installation befor…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Feed-in tariffs are not fair to renewable energy pioneers
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 14th August 2009 at 9:17 am
Renewable energy pioneers have been dealt a dismal hand by DECC's proposed rates for the feed-in tariff. Existing microgenerators (whose installation has been accredited under the Renewable Obligation) will be automatically transferred to the feed-in tariff on a rate of 9p per kWh (kilowatt hours)…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Existing generators angry at feed-in cuts to income
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 15th September 2009 at 8:32 am
Feed-in tariffs are designed to incentivise people to invest in renewable sources of energy generation. Yet, the government's proposals will give much lower rates to existing microgenerators, leading to a cut in income for many. This seems a perverse move from government. The numbers of micro wi…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Solar PV: how to tell the difference between panel types
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 25th September 2009 at 9:50 am
Solar PV (photovoltaic) panels come in lots of different types - mostly with long and complicated names - so it's not easy to know what the difference is. Last night I went to an excellent evening organised by the Sid Valley Energy Action Group - a group of enthusiastic volunteers who promote ene…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Equal feed-in tariff for existing generation has heavyweight support
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 30th September 2009 at 10:10 am
Support for equal feed-in rates for those who already have small solar PV, wind turbines or hydro came from diverse parts of the renewable energy sector at yesterday's RegenSW conference in Bristol. Sponsor Christine Griffiths of Aeolus Power got her passionate call in early in the day - to be me…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Green party promises best finance scheme for microgeneration
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 16th November 2009 at 11:59 am
Proper insulation for every home and interest-free loans for domestic renewable energy are just some of the policies promised by the Green party if they win the next election. While it would be expensive, says Paula Black, Totnes councillor, and prospective Green Party parliamentary candidate for Ex…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Feed-in rate announcement may be delayed
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 24th November 2009 at 4:07 pm
The much awaited results of the consultation on feed-in tariffs may take a little longer than hoped. Internal wrangling between government departments is to blame according to the Guardian, and it's not clear when we're going to find out. Ed Milliband had apparently hoped to have the policy i…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Solar PV industry uncertainty as grants pot runs out
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 4th December 2009 at 9:23 am
The solar industry faces another phase of uncertainty as the grants money to support installation of photovoltaic panels in public sector buildings and charities has run out again. The Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 grant pot was topped up with £35m earlier this year, of which £13m was …
Posted in: Solar electricity
Back UK jobs, innovation and manufacturing through renewable energy
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 9th December 2009 at 10:25 am
With the announcement of the final feed-in tariff rates postponed until (probably mid) January, a frenzy of lobbying has erupted for a more ambitious settlement that will deliver more renewable energy, and more British jobs in manufacturing and installing. If you want to join in, here are some sugge…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Solar panels fall in price
Posted by Chris Rudge on 11th November 2009 at 10:30 am
There is both good news and bad news in the solar PV (photovoltaic) installation world. Over the last few months, the cost of solar electricity modules has fallen by anything up to 10%. This is due to an early year slump in demand throughout Europe in caused by the credit crisis. There had also b…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Renewable heat soon to join the energy revolution
Posted by Gabriel Wondrausch on 6th November 2009 at 9:13 am
Until a few months ago, solar thermal hot water heating has been the most cost effective way for people to generate their own renewable energy - for every pound invested it has usually delivered the highest units of energy. The reason for this is that solar thermal systems have always been the most…
Posted in: Solar heat & hot water
What will 2010 bring for microgeneration?
Posted by Matthew Rhodes on 18th January 2010 at 9:39 am
I have a growing feeling that 2010 will mark a watershed in the development of microgeneration in the UK . The introduction of feed-in tariffs (FiTs) from April marks a sea change in established attitudes to small scale renewables, and a very belated attempt by the UK to catch up with the rest of…
Posted in: General
Public wants ambitious support for microgeneration
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 28th January 2010 at 9:32 am
Renewable energy in homes, communities and businesses got a public vote of confidence this week, but needs ambitious goals and support from government to succeed. A new survey found that people are prepared to pay higher energy bills to support a stronger feed-in tariff. Two thirds of the pop…
Posted in: General, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Feed-in tariff explained in video
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 3rd February 2010 at 3:41 pm
For those of you who prefer your information visually, here's a great video from Solar Century. …
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Feed-in tariff scheme is shortsighted
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th February 2010 at 12:46 pm
A last, we've got our foot firmly on the road to making renewable energy part of the UK's energy mix. Yes, the Feed-in Tariff rates could be higher. The government's goals for microgeneration could have been more ambitious. But the rates are probably attractive enough, especially in the current e…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Feed-in tariff: your questions answered
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th February 2010 at 12:02 pm
The introduction of the feed-in tariff (known as Clean Energy Cashback scheme) opens a new and exciting era for microgeneration. Here we answer some of the most common questions on the new scheme. If you've got any more, please add a comment below and we'll do our best to answer. The information bel…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Conservatives support fair treatment for all microgenerators
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 17th February 2010 at 9:07 am
If elected, the Conservatives will pay early adopters of microgeneration technologies the same rate of Clean Energy Cashback (the government's new financial incentive for renewable generation) as new installers according to a new campaigning website. Charles Hendry, the shadow minister for energy…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Three ways we could improve UK feed in tariffs
Posted by Matthew Rhodes on 22nd February 2010 at 9:17 pm
I am a stalwart supporter of feed in tariffs, and anticipate a revolution in UK microgeneration in the next few months as a result. Their introduction is long overdue. However, on Monday I sat through a lengthy discussion both of feed in tariffs (FiTs) and the proposed renewable heat incentiv…
Posted in: General, Combined heat & power, Heat pumps, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water, Wind turbines
Rainwater harvesting: where are the incentives?
Posted by Barry Nutley on 5th March 2010 at 9:06 am
The recent announcements surrounding the feed-in tariff (FIT) and renwable heat incentive (RHI), are (generally) fantastic news for the renewable industry. But the Government seems to have forgotten about rainwater harvesting. Whilst technically not a renewable technology, water is still an impor…
Posted in: Rainwater harvesting
Conservative energy policy is a damp squib for renewables
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 24th March 2010 at 9:30 am
Twelve actions "to put our energy system back on its feet" are at the heart of the long awaited Conservative energy policy which was finally launched last Friday. Of them, three relate directly to domestic renewable energy and energy efficiency, but it's difficult to see that they add much new to th…
Posted in: General
EDM adds weight to campaign for equal rates for microgeneration pioneers
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th March 2010 at 9:29 am
Sixty seven MPs have signed early day motion 953 calling for equal clean energy cashback (feed-in tariff) for pioneer microgenerators. You can check whether your MP is one of them on the parliament website. If not, why not ask them to sign it. The easiest way to do this is at Write to Them. The m…
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Long awaited Baxi Ecogen Micro-CHP unit launched
Posted by Gilly Jones on 6th May 2010 at 2:58 pm
The Baxi Ecogen Micro-CHP home boiler is finally available. The first wall-hung combined heat and power (CHP) unit is currently only available through British Gas' network of installers. It's only suitable for houses on the mains gas network. Baxi claims that the Ecogen is …
Posted in: Combined heat & power
Solar PV installations are held up by a shortage of inverters
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 17th May 2010 at 9:18 am
Delays of up to 17 weeks on delivery of inverters is causing problems for solar panel installers. With demand up because of the feed-in tariff, installers cannot finish jobs on time, as they wait for inverters. 'The inverter situation is pretty drastic,' said Chris Aloise, managing director of Eu…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Uncertainty ahead as Low Carbon Building Programme is cut
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 26th May 2010 at 12:31 pm
The Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) grants scheme closed to new applications on Monday. We're calling on the Government to act quickly to eliminate the state of uncertainty facing consumers and the renewable heat industry as a result. The cut came as part of the Department of Energ…
Posted in: General, Biomass, Heat pumps, Solar heat & hot water
Barriers to microgeneration part 2: finance
Posted by Good Energy team on 31st May 2010 at 9:37 pm
Initial capital outlay is a major barrier to installing microgeneration systems, whatever someone's motivation. Renewable energy installations can cost from £4,000 to £25,000. Access to sums of capital of this size is not realistic for most UK homeowners. So how do we get around this? Especiall…
Posted in: General
Tell Dave and Nick what you think of their energy plans
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 8th June 2010 at 9:22 am
The government is asking for our views on its programme for government. We've had a look at its proposed measures for energy and climate change, and our response is below. You can comment too - but get your skates on, they want to hear from us by Thursday 10 June. Our first thought is of motherho…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Ecotricity offers the best tariff for pioneer microgenerators
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 16th June 2010 at 9:25 am
The best generation rates for early adopters of solar electricity and micro electricity who installed their system before the 15 June 2009 cut offs for feed-in tariffs are available from Ecotricity. The green electricity provider has introduced a new Microtricity scheme that pays 16p a unit…
Posted in: Green Electricity
Feed-in tariffs: how to claim them
Posted by John E Martin on 5th July 2010 at 9:39 am
Feed-in tariffs are now up and running and many people are keen to take advantage of the potential returns. This is a guide to how to qualify and apply to receive these payments. If you are applying for an installation commissioned after 1 April 2010 you will need to ensure the following: …
Posted in: General, Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Can I get the feed-in tariff and a grant?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 7th July 2010 at 12:15 pm
Community groups and schools that received Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) phase 2 grants have been told that if they want to receive the feed-in tariff they will have to pay the grant back. As many of them went ahead and installed in the belief that they would be entitled to the feed-in …
Posted in: Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Early adopters and the feed-in tariff: an update
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th July 2010 at 10:05 am
The Conservative party promised, prior to the election, that early adopters of microgeneration will get the feed-in tariffs. Since the election the silence on the subject has been deafening. Until now. An early adopter has just sent me this letter from DECC: "As set out in the Coalition Progr…
Posted in: Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Solar panels are now an investment opportunity
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 16th July 2010 at 11:40 am
There are lots of reasons people install solar panels on their roof. It may be to protect themselves from rising energy prices, a desire to reduce their carbon footprint, or concern about energy security. Until recently, it certainly wasn't to make money. However, two things have changed. The int…
Posted in: Solar electricity, Green Electricity
Feed-in tariff for early adopters: an update
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 6th August 2010 at 10:28 am
Prior to the general election, the Conservatives promised that early adopters of microgeneration technologies would receive full feed-in tariffs (and not the much lower 9p rate currently on offer). Since the coalition government formed there has been a deafening silence from Whitehall on the subject…
Posted in: Hydro electricity, Solar electricity, Wind turbines
Free solar panels: is it too good to be true?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 11th August 2010 at 8:54 am
Solar PV panels worth £10-12,000, installed on your roof, free of charge - it sounds too good to be true, but is it really? The 'rent a roof' model, as it is known, is proving attractive to installers and investors. A Shade Greener, Homesun and Isis Solar are just three of companies offering the…
Posted in: Solar electricity
10 tips for choosing a good solar PV installer
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 2nd June 2010 at 2:43 pm
Choosing an installer is always a tricky business, so I asked Stuart Houghton, of Abacus Renewable Energy, who installed our photovoltaic solar panels, what his top tips are. Watch the video, or read on, to find out: 1. Find out ho…
Posted in: Solar electricity
Good news on grants and feed-in tariffs
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 1st September 2010 at 2:22 pm
Many schools and community groups are being told they can claim the feed-in tariff and keep grants received under the Low Carbon Building Programme, following months of uncertainty. Under threat of having to pay back their grant many organisations faced financial difficulty. Their calculations pr…
Posted in: General
Feed-in tariff registration: why is it taking so long?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 2nd September 2010 at 9:55 am
I've heard a number of complaints from people about how long it's taking to register their solar or wind installation for the feed-in tariff, so when I was talking to Ofgem about grants this week, I asked about that too. It appears that the delay is mostly in migrating installations that were reg…
Posted in: General
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