Photovoltaic Solar Panel industry uncertain as grants run dry

As reported at You Gen.co.uk...

"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 earmarked for solar PV. Demand has been higher than expected, and this has gone, leaving the industry facing a gap until feed-in tariffs are introduced in April 2010. This is made worse as the feed-in tariff rates still haven't been announced, and aren't expected to be until January.
This does not affect grants for householders, which are paid from the low carbon buildings programme phase 1."

Worrying news indeed and whilst they'll be hoping this state of uncertainty is reversed when the UK Feed-In Tariff's are introduced (or expected to be) in April 2010, even that is surrounded by uncertainty as tariff's have yet to be announced.

The market uncertainty has been likened to a "roller coaster for business planning".

Read the full article at You Gen by clicking here.

photo credit: jason rogers

It's not the heat - it's the intensity...

I came across an interesting reminder of what generating electricity with solar panels is all about and how it works for a domestic situation.

As the article (on Article Bliss)put it, even the UK (apparently known for its wet climate) can still benefit from photovoltaic electricity production (photovoltaic is the term used for soar panels that produce electricity rather than hot water).

"It is not the sun's heat we are aiming to collect but the sun's intensity. Even areas that are known for wet climates such as the United Kingdom, can benefit from photovoltaic electricity production.

One advantage of using solar panels to generate electricity in a domestic environment is that you can start small and build on the system as time and money allows. For example, you could start with one or preferably two solar panels. These when used together will provide you with a small amount of free electricity to power some lighting or other low power items such as your television. To make the solar electricity generating system a viable alternative to being connected to the national grid you would need several panels working in unison."

The article goes on to give a brief overview of using batteries to store solar generated electricity for later use, and is well worth 5 minutes of your reading time. Click here to read the full article.

If that's wetted your appetite for solar power, why not start by getting a free online quote to find out how much a solar panel installation might cost you? It's completely free and no salesman will call.

photo credit: rob!

Welcome to Solar Panel Quoter - The Blog

Hi and welcome to Solar Panel Quoter - a resource of the latest articles and news regarding solar energy and renewable solar power technologies for homeowners.

We'll be discussing solar panel installation, inverters, batteries, hybrid wind, hydro solar systems, back up power systems, RV and marine solar power solutions as well as solar well pumps and the effects of living off-grid.

For those of you already using solar energy, we'll hopefully be covering expanding your solar energy system and mixing different solar panels in an existing installation.

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Solar Panel Quoter - The Blog was inspired by the online quoting service - solarpanelquoter.co.uk which allows homeowners and businesses to get instant online quotes for their solar energy needs.