Leeds Solar Blog

Export Rate Increase

The export rate paid for all new solar PV installations, as well as those installed at the previous 4.5p export rate, is to rise to 4.64p per kWh from April 2013 onwards.

This increase is confirmed at the foot of the table of quarterly Feed In Tariff rate changes released by Ofgem earlier this month.

Leeds Solar today welcomes Jonathan Ramos to our solar PV design team.

An independent 2 year study conducted by Sheffield University researchers who collected data from over 2000 UK based solar PV installations has shown that 98% of these systems achieved their predicted annual generation figures, with only 2% of systems failing to reach their SAP predictions.

Dr Alistair Buckley, a university lecturer who is leading the project, said he was surprised that so many of the units were operating so well.

He said: “There are basically three main technology types that have been deployed in the UK, and they are all working well - that is ‘to spec’. They do what they say on the tin most of the time.

Edited to add : This article was based on the mistaken assumption that a quarter of a year was 3 months, unfortunately DECC seem to think that a quarter can also be 2 months, so the next FIT cut is actually scheduled for 1st July and not 1st August as we had originally stated.

Leeds Solar's analysis of the latest weekly solar PV installation statistics released by DECC clearly demonstrates that there is no possibility that the quarterly installed capacity will reach the cut off threshold needed to trigger a Feed In Tariff cut on 1st May.

After 18 months of continuous severe price reductions in the solar market, it looks to us as if solar panel prices in the UK may well have started rebounding from their recently low prices.

We've just been checking our suppliers prices and have noticed prices from most of the major suppliers seem to have started going up a little in the last month, as shown below.

We're happy to confirm that Leeds Solar passed our 3rd annual MCS inspection with NAPIT today with flying colours and no non-conformities.

This means that Leeds Solar continue to be MCS certified installers for Solar PV and Solar Water Heating as we have been since 2010.

Analysis of sunlight hours data shows that solar PV systems in West Yorkshire installed after June 2011 will have suffered from reduced first year sunlight levels compared to the 1998-2010 average our predictions are based on.

This years unusually bad summer is largely to blame for this with sunlight hours around 40% below average in June and April, as well as July and August being 10 and 14% below average.

Most of the last 12 months were below average though, with March being the notable exception at 48% above average.

On 20th September DECC released a 111 page consultation on the long delayed Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, which contains major changes to the scheme as it was originally proposed 3 years ago.

We now present an overview of the key elements of the RHI scheme as it is now proposed, in relation to Solar Water Heating only.

Solar panels are now seen as the most desirable extra / non-essential aspect of a property when house buyers are choosing which house to buy.

38% of those surveyed gave solar panels as the top extra item they'd like their new house to have, according to the new survey commissioned by IMG Direct.

The research clearly shows the popularity of solar installations among house buyers who recognise the long term energy savings, and financial income that a solar installation guarantees for them and their families, as well as the positive environmental impact.

A new draft version of the G83/2 regulations has been released for consultation including major changes to the rules about when advance permission is needed for connecting a solar PV system to the grid.

The key changes are:-

Definition of 'Close Geographic Region'

Google Trends Analysis; Solar PV, England

Leeds Solar have used the google trends website to analyse the trend in the number of searches for the term 'solar PV' by google users based in England, and the results are fairly shocking.

Leeds Solar are proud to announce the formal launch of our specialist energy consultancy company, Bright Future Energy Ltd, in partnership with Professor Gordon E Andrews, and Professor Bernard M Gibbs from the Leeds University Energy Research Institute.

Bright Future Energy Ltd formalises an informal consultancy arrangement that Leeds Solar has operated with Professor Andrews & Gibbs as well as other members and students of the  Energy Research Institute for the last couple of years.

The consultancy aims to cover a range of areas within the energy field, giving industry and the public sector access to the expertise our 2 lead Professorial Consultants have built up over their 90-100 year combined high level energy research, industry and teaching experience.

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations broke through the 400ppm threshold for the first time in 800,000 years in May at 7 monitoring stations around the Arctic circle, according to an announcement from NOAA.

“The northern sites in our monitoring network tell us what is coming soon to the globe as a whole. We will likely see global average CO2 concentrations reach 400 ppm about 2016."