Solar Energy Can Compete

Renewables have seen such dramatic price falls in the past few years that they are threatening to upset the world as we know it and usher in an almost unprecedented boom in the spread of cheap, clean, home-produced energy.

Solar will be the cheapest form of power in many countries within just a few years. In places such as California and Italy it has already reached so-called "grid parity". Onshore wind, on a piece of land not constrained by years of planning delays, is already the cheapest form of energy on earth. These are not wild claims – those are figures from General Electric, Citibank and others.

Solar PV is a case in point. Three years ago firms were paying about €3,600 per installed kilowatt of solar capacity on barn roofs in Germany. Today it can be done for just over €1,000 – a staggering 70% fall.

Thanks to a surge in global production to 60 gWp annually, (enough to supply British households – not offices or factories – with all their electricity) solar power has dropped dramatically in price. But there is more to come. Cambridge IP, a global innovation and intellectual property firm, says there is a surge of interest and R&D into two new forms of solar power which are likely to be available commercially by the end of this decade.

Newly built solar plants are already considerably cheaper than new nuclear plants per kilowatt hour of electricity produced and because of this solar energy can and will compete head on with conventional energy.

True, there is an ongoing cost from the German government's previous support for solar, but is much lower than the subsidies pumped by the western world into nuclear, coal, oil and gas over the past decades.

Solar is starting to pay its subsidy back. Germany now has more than 30 gigaWatt peak (gWp) of solar plants installed, such that on almost all days in the spring, summer and autumn, solar energy surges into the grid at a time when demand is at is strongest (air conditioning etc) and when spot market energy prices are at their highest.

This peak price is being forced down by solar, helping to reduce wholesale prices. The big energy companies hate this because this peak is where they make their money. Solar in Germany is almost down to wholesale prices – in sunnier countries it already is.

Germany (Europe's biggest economy) now gets 25% of its electricity from renewables – a proportion that is increasing by the month. This is twice the level of the UK, although, interestingly, similar to that of Scotland on its own. Germany is also leading on figuring out how to overcome the problems of "intermittency" by storing renewable energy.

Urban Energy

We are an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economical and environmentally sound green energy solutions for homes and businesses in the South West.

We only install products that lead the way within the renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality assurance.

We understand that introducing a renewable energy system i.e solar panels, to either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With our in-house installation team and electrical division, it is our promise to you the customer, that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our number one priority.

The Granary, Phillips Lane, Stratford-sub-Castle, Salisbury SP1 3YR
Tel: 0800 2321624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk

Green Deal: energy saving for your home or business

Householders are to be offered long-term loans to help make their homes more energy efficient and cut bills under a new government scheme launched today. Under the scheme, households can use cheap loans to spend on energy-saving improvements, such as insulation and new boilers, with no upfront cost.


The move to insulate the UK's aged housing stock is designed to save carbon emissions, keep people warm, and make energy affordable, the government said.

Anyone joining the scheme would first have their home reviewed by an independent assessor, advising on possible upgrades, costs and energy saving time scales.

Green Deal providers would then calculate quotes for the proposed work - with households free to get multiple quotes - before carrying out the changes.

Under the deal, improvements are installed at no initial cost. Instead, charges are covered with cheap loans via the not-for-profit Green Deal Finance Company, and recouped gradually over up to 25 years through customers' electricity bills.


How the Green Deal works

You can make energy-saving improvements to your home or business without having to pay all the costs up front through the Green Deal.

Energy-saving improvements include:

• insulation - eg loft or cavity wall insulation
• heating
• draught-proofing
• double glazing
• renewable energy technologies - eg solar panels or wind turbines

What you need to do:

Get an assessment of your property to see what improvements you can make and how much you could save on your energy bills.

Choose a Green Deal provider to carry out the work. You discuss with them what work you want done and whether the Green Deal is right for you.

If you go ahead with the improvements you must sign your Green Deal Plan - this is a contract between you and the provider stating what work will be done and how much it will cost. The provider will then arrange for a Green Deal installer to do the work.

Once the work is done, you’ll pay off the money in instalments through your electricity bill.


Urban Energy

We are an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economical and environmentally sound green energy solutions for homes and businesses in the South West.

We only install products that lead the way within the renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality assurance.

We understand that introducing a renewable energy system i.e solar panels, to either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With our in-house installation team and electrical division, it is our promise to you the customer, that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our number one priority.

The Granary, Phillips Lane, Stratford-sub-Castle, Salisbury SP1 3YR
Tel: 0800 2321624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk

PowerRouter – Self-Generating Solar Energy

The PowerRouter is the ideal solution for the use of self-generated solar power (self-use). Why sell your surplus energy to the grid at a lower price, when you can store it for later use and receive a higher incentive for generating and using your own solar energy? Just connect solar energy and batteries to the PowerRouter and monitor and control where and when you use it. The PowerRouter allows you to optimize, control and manage yourself-generated energy. The PowerRouter is perfectly equipped to make the most efficient use of the self-use regulations. Use your own energy whenever you need it most.

http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/solar-energy/self-generating-solar-energy/


Urban Energy

We are an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economical and environmentally sound green energy solutions for homes and businesses in the South West.

We only install products that lead the way within the renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality assurance.

We understand that introducing a renewable energy system i.e solar panels, to either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With our in-house installation team and electrical division, it is our promise to you the customer, that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our number one priority.

The Granary, Phillips Lane, Stratford-sub-Castle, Salisbury SP1 3YR
Tel: 0800 2321624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk

Urban Energy Investment Calculator

Calculate the investment returns for yourself using our on-line calculator:

http://www.urbanenergy.org.uk/help-desk/

Urban Energy

We are an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economical and environmentally sound green energy solutions for homes and businesses in the South West.

We only install products that lead the way within the renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality assurance.

We understand that introducing a renewable energy system i.e solar panels, to either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With our in-house installation team and electrical division, it is our promise to you the customer, that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our number one priority.

The Granary, Phillips Lane, Stratford-sub-Castle, Salisbury SP1 3YR
Tel: 0800 2321624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk

Solar Feed in Tariffs from November 2012

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that it's official deployment figures for the period from the 1st May 2012 to the 31st July 2012 are available to the public. This announcement is particularly significant, as it is these figures that will determine what the solar Feed-in Tariff rates are from November.

DECC has split installations into 3 size-based categories. Domestic scale installations (0-10kW), have totalled 164MW of capacity in the 3 month period. This falls within the 100-200MW threshold and so a 3.5% reduction will be implemented on the two tariff bands within this category. ≤4kW installations will receive 15.44p per kWh produced (down from 16p) and the >4-10kW rate will be 13.99p (down from 14.5p) from November 1st.

Small commercial installations (10-50kW) hit 57MW. The threshold here was just 50MW and so a 3.5% degression will also affect these tariff rates. As of November, the >10-50kW FIT rate will be 13.03p/kWh down from 13.5p.

The final category, large commercial installations (50kW-5MW), capacity only reached 14MW, which is less than the degression threshold. As a result the tariffs for larger installations will remain untouched, at least until February 2013.

Urban Energy

We are an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economical and environmentally sound green energy solutions for homes and businesses in the South West.

We only install products that lead the way within the renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality assurance.

We understand that introducing a renewable energy system i.e solar panels, to either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With our in-house installation team and electrical division, it is our promise to you the customer, that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our number one priority.

The Granary, Phillips Lane, Stratford-sub-Castle, Salisbury SP1 3YR
Tel: 0800 2321624
Email: info@urbanenergy.org.uk