14/12/09 - At last we have some word about feed-in tariffs, albeit only about the tax implications.  Nevertheless, the announcement in last week's pre-budget report that domestic microgenerators would receive tax breaks, is good news. In plain english, the Treasury has announced that income from the feed-in tariff will be exempt from tax for both the generation and export streams. Hopefully, we will soon hear more on the feed-in tariff and how it will work.

10/12/09 - Our customers install solar PV for many different reasons and regard the capital outlay in many different ways. Mr Pavitt from Stratford summed up the feelings of many after we installed a 1.8kWp system in October this year:

"The initial cost is a little scary at first, about the same as a small car - but what car could you buy that actually pays you to use it at the same time as being an investment on your property? In fact with the Feed-in Tariff starting soon, you get about a 10% return on your investment. Try getting that at a building society! Being paid to generate is a big plus."

"And then there is that warm glow you get inside when you see the generation meter ticking away and your usage meter standing still. We still get excited about it."

4/12/09 - The Green Electrician will be installing solar PV up to Christmas Eve, as we hope to bring a green Christmas to as many of our customers as we can!

It is no surprise that pv installation slots after the New Year are also filling up fast as customers take advantage of the £2500 LCBP grant scheme before it runs out at the end of March 2010.  From next week we have a new installer, a qualified electrician, joining our installation team to help us fulfill all our orders before the grant cut off date.

2 December 2009 - The Green Electrician supports the introduction of the UK-wide Feed-In Tariff in April 2010.  Whilst we wait for the final details of how the tariff will be implemented and tariff levels (expected end December), the basis will be to offer financial incentives to customers installing solar PV up to 5MW of electricity.  Under current proposals the Fit offers around 8% return.  However, pressure is on the Government to increase this incentive to encourage more people to install solar PV.  We wait will great anticipation to hear what the Government decides to do.

30 November 2009 - The Green Electrician has joined the 10-10 Campaign, joining a line up of influential politicians, celebrities and companies as well as the Department of Energy and Climate Change.  As a company, we plan to reduce our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.

25/11/09 - The installations teams have been trying to avoid the floods in the North of England for much of November, working on solar PV installations in Northumberland and Yorkshire.  The short days and bad weather has not reduced the flow of enquiries, and we have seen a dramatic increase in enquiries for ground mounted and tracker systems this month as people with limited roof space look to make use of any open ground they have.

October 2009 had our installers and site survey teams working hard.  We completed the following installations: PV installation Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Berkshire

September 2009 - we completed PV installations in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Lancashire, including an integrated PV system in Bury, see case studies for more information.

The Green Electrician supports action on climate change and will be joining 'The Wave' on Saturday 5th December, walking through London to raise awareness for climate change and the need to build a green economy.  For further details contact The Wave

13/10/09 - Enquiries are coming in fast keeping our site survey and installation teams flat out as customers hurry to install before the grants run out at the end of March 2010.

This week alone we have installed a system in Malvern and one in Stratford, have completed four site surveys and booked a further seven for the next two weeks.  We are already booking installations for January.

We completed an integrated system in Bolton for a residential customer this week.  Interesting project as it was part of a reroofing.  The roofers stood by and watched as we installed the PV modules, everyone was fascinated, particularly as we flicked the switch and the system started to generate electricity.