27 September 2009 - The UK is lagging far behind Europe in generating solar electricity, where financial incentives have been in place for a number of years.  According to an article by the Sunday Telegraph (27/9) the German Government's solar programme is seeing more than 130,000 homes being fitted with solar PV technology each year.  Germany, which introduced the feed-in tariff nine years ago, installed 250 times more solar panels than the UK in 2008.

The British Government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme has helped just 1720 homeowners over the last three and half years.  "The introduction of the Feed-in Tariff is the Government's attempt to encourage uptake of renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaics, " said The Green Electrician marketing director, Claire Davies. "The Government aims to give PV system owners an 8% return on their investment.  This rate beats most banks and will encourage anyone with spare cash to turn their roof into an income producer."

For information on the feed-in tariff click here