UK Solar Power Adds 1 GW Capacity In H1 2014 As Developers Vow To Fight On For Subsid

[ScienceRocks]

UK Solar Power Adds 1 GW Capacity In H1 2014 As Developers Vow To Fight On For Subsidies

Solar power capacity has seen an impressive boom in the UK during the first six months of 2014. The figures released by the Department of Climate Change show the country managed to overtake Germany in capacity addition during the first half of the year.

The provisional statistics reveal that about 1,137 MW solar power capacity was added to the grid during the first six months this year. This is the highest capacity addition during the period across Europe. This is a massive jump of 56% of the 728 MW capacity added during the first half of 2013.

The cumulative solar power capacity in the UK now stands at just under 4,000 MW and is marching briskly towards the government’s goal to increase its share in the energy mix to 15% by 2020. Solar photovoltaics (PV) remains among the most popular renewable energy technologies in the UK. According to the data released by the DECC earlier this year, solar PV had the third-highest share in installed capacity among renewable energy technologies.

The DECC plans to have 22 GW of solar power capacity installed by 2020 and has implemented several measures to support such an ambitious target. The government is considering to implement automatic approval for setting up rooftop solar PV projects of size up to 1 MW. Currently auto-approval is restricted to projects with capacity up to 50 kW only.

1 GW of Capacity Added to UK Solar Power in 2014 Already

 

[Old Rocks]

How Installing Solar Panels Can Boost Property Value | Cost of Solar - Learn the Benefits of Solar Energy

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory offers a useful guide when determining how much your property’s value will go up. According to its research, each additional $1 in energy bill savings (from your solar installation) adds $20 to your home’s total value.

This rule of thumb varies depending on a number of factors, including:

The location of your home. Installations in active solar markets like New Jersey typically yield higher returns than comparable installations in less developed markets.
The size of your installation. Property value increases are directly proportional to the number (and quality) of solar PV panels installed.
The value of your home. Larger houses usually receive higher nominal boosts in property value. However, this increase often represents a smaller percentage of the total home value.
The exact numbers vary from property to property and installation to installation, but recent research shows an average increase in resale value being $5,911 for each 1 kilowatt (kW) of solar installed. In a state like California, for example, a small 3.1-kilowatt (kW) system can add an average of $18,324 to the value of a medium-sized home.

As the numbers of EV's increases, there will be an even bigger increase in value per kw.

 

[Old Rocks]

How Much Do Solar Panels Boost Home Sale Prices? - Forbes

Add a new steel front door to your house and you’ll likely recoup the investment if you have to sell. But what about a solar power system?

A group of California economists looked at that question in a recent study and found that on average, homeowners in California who install photovoltaic solar panels to power their homes can recover nearly all the investment costs if they move–and that’s on top of the annual energy savings.

And if they live in a liberal community (with more registered Green Party members and Toyota Priuses) there’s an even greater payback.

The economists looked at utility data, sales records of single family homes and building permit data in San Diego County and Sacramento County from 2003 through year-end 2010. The study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, titled “Understanding the Solar Home Price Premium: Electricity Generation and ‘Green’ Social Status,” is available here.

Many more articles like this, all saying that solar is good from the viewpoint of an investment.

 

[Mr. H.]

"Fight on for subsidies"?

Ask the Germans how that's working out for them.