Financial Times: It's time for renewables
May 2009:
By Jeremy Leggett, Executive Chairman, Solarcentury.
Prospects for renewable energy have never looked better, even in the face of recession. But the new technologies are growing so fast they are beginning to threaten the old. Some defenders of conventional energy have started to argue against renewables, citing fears about growth.
In 2008, for the first time, both the European Union and the US added more capacity from renewables than from fossil-fuel and nuclear sources.
From end-2004 to end-2008, total global power capacity from new renewables increased 75 per cent to 280 gigawatts, including a six-fold increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to more than 16 gigawatts, and a 250 per cent increase in wind power capacity to 121 gigawatts. Wind power capacity grew 29 per cent, with the US overtaking Germany. China was not far behind, doubling capacity for the fifth year running.
Global solar PV production rose 85 per cent to 7.9 gigawatts. Such growth is possible, continuing even in recession, because some 73 countries have set renewable power generation targets, and at least 64 of them are attempting to hit the targets.
The Guardian: Cost of Solar Energy will match Fossil Fuels in 2013
May 2009:
Solar energy will fall in price to match the cost of conventional fossil fuel electricity far sooner than previously expected, the UK's largest solar company has claimed in a new report. Solarcentury said British homeowners will see solar achieve "grid parity" – the point where solar electricity rivals or becomes cheaper than conventional nonrenewable electricity – by 2013. Most predictions suggest that technological innovation will not bring the price down far enough until 2020 or later.
The company suggested falling production costs for solar panels and increasing conventional electricity costs have brought parity closer. Prices for solar and grid electricity in residential homes are expected to crossover at around 17p to 18p per unit of electricity (kWh) in 2013, followed by parity for commercial solar electricity in 2018.
The Guardian: Green feed-in tariff needs to maximise solar power
May 2009:
By Jeremy Leggett, Executive Chairman, Solarcentury.
MPs and others are now starting to recognise the potential of solar power technology in the UK, but we are still only scratching the surface.
April 2010 could be a major milestone in the UK's attempts to deliver a low-carbon economy. Assuming all goes well, that is the date when the government will introduce new "feed-in tariffs", where a price premium is paid to homeowners, schools and businesses for every unit of electricity they generate from small-scale renewable technologies, such as solar photovoltaics (PV), wind and micro hydro power.
All of these technologies have immense potential in the UK. However, there is still a very real danger the government will lose its bottle and go for a tariff that will at best make a very marginal difference to uptake. If that happens, it will be a massive lost opportunity at a time when the government needs all the help it can get in meeting its 2020 renewable energy targets.
MPs make Commons solar power motion number one
The motion for solar power in the UK today became the most supported in Parliament. Over 250 MPs have signed the Commons motion (EDM 689) in support of solar PV in the UK, making it the most popular Commons motion out of over 1,600 tabled to date in this Parliamentary session. The weight of MP support for the motion reflects the views of 1000’s of individuals and 100’s of organisations signed up to the 'We Support Solar' campaign.
'We Support Solar' Photography Competition - over £1,000 worth of prizes up for grabs
Now that Spring is well and truly here, get your camera out and... Celebrate Daylight!'We Support Solar', in association with The Ecologist, is today launching a photography competition to celebrate daylight in the UK.
The competition brief is to take a photograph that conveys the beauty and potential of light in the UK. From a landscape with a cloudy sunrise, or a reflection in a buildings window, to the setting sun reflected in a water droplet, any subject, anywhere & anything could be suitable.
Enter for your chance to win one of SANYO’s latest High Definition XACTI Dual Camcorders, a Wattson energy meter, tickets to the Eden Project and London Duck Tour, and a chance for your picture to be exhibited at The Big Chill Festival this summer.
Solarcentury at CIH exhibition 2009
Solarcentury will again be exhibiting at the CIH exhibition in Harrogate this June. Visit us at the show to find out how we can help Housing Associations and RSLs meet Code for Sustainable Homes requirements, and find out more about the lifecycle costs of PV when compared to other renewables...
The Guardian's Ashley Seager on 'the rewards of solar panels'.
"We live in an old terraced house on a cloudy, rainy island. Yet the solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on our roof, put up two years ago, are supplying around 90% of all the electricity used by my family."
"The initial cost is high, but don't let that put you off. Two key developments in recent months have made it worth considering solar PV panels."
President Gorbachev calls for Dramatic Boost to Solar Energy to Revitalise Economy, Fight Climate Change & Energy Poverty.
Solar Report Card Highlights Potential for Governments to Spur Robust Solar Markets.UK receives a D- Grade, US C+, Germany A-, China D-, Russia F
Green Cross International Founder Mikhail Gorbachev has urged world leaders and the private sector to make big investments in solar energy swiftly as a way out of the current economic crisis and as part of an emergency response to climate change. Mr. Gorbachev was addressing a press conference in San Antonio, Texas, where he addresses the 33rd NPRA International Petrochemical Conference.
UN: $750bn could finance "Global Green New Deal"
The UN Environment Program suggests that world leaders invest the equivalent of one percent of the global gross domestic product to revive world economy and put a brake on global warming.