So. the solar photovoltaic market in the UK is about to really take off…..but wait……inverters are in short supply….. !!!!!
In the not so distant past, inverters were just another part of the PV installation – and probably because of the relatively small number that we in the UK were installing, and let’s be honest; the tiny proportion that they accounted for globally, it really didn’t matter if the UK didn’t get its delivery quota for any one month. That’s is until now…….
With that recent announcement by HM government on feed in tariffs, and with reliable predictions of the market growing by well over 90 % each year for the next 5 years, inverters have now become the “must have” piece of kit…in short they are of critical importance to installers and customers alike – however, due to the severe lack of G83 compliant inverters, this will lead to delayed connection of hundreds of Solar PV installations.
So the news that householders have been waiting for….and as always, there is disappointment for some and rewards for others..
In announcing the new feed in tariffs, the government has reneged on its original plan to radically alter the landscape for renewable energy. Instead, what most commentators see is in its proposed levels of support scheme for small-scale renewable energy schemes, is a distinct lack of ambition to tackle climate change.
Unveiling the new so-called feed-in tariffs (FITs) paid to people, communities or businesses who generate electricity from solar PV panels, wind turbines or other renewable sources, the governments energy secretary Ed Miliband said the government still only intends that this sector would eventually supply only 2% of the country’s electricity by 2020 – incredibly, and in spite of mounting evidence for rampant climate change, that’s the same figure he proposed in mid 2009.
But the sweeteners are that Some new technologies, such as solar photovoltaic panels on household roofs will get a higher feed-in tariff, and, importantly, all tariffs will be continually updated to adjust for inflation each year. But large-scale community wind turbines will now get a lower feed in tariff than proposed last year, leaving the overall level of support to the industry little changed.
And as with everything, this could all change after the election with the Conservative Party pledging to introduce a much higher rate of feed in tariff to match those in Germany. Either way, the time has come for renewables and for those of you who need to gain insight into PV, we will be offering the NIC Certification PV Installers course, from Mid April onwards – for more details on this, check out our courses section on the main web site www.totalelectricaltraining.com