Adrian Sanders MP (Lib Dem Torbay) has joined 90 other MPs supporting the popular new campaign ‘We support Solar’. A Commons motion (EDM 689) has been tabled in support of the campaign.
The campaign is targeted at government to ensure that solar owners are rewarded for the electricity that they generate. This is known as a ‘Feed-in tariff’ (FIT), and when it is introduced by the Government in 2010 it could mean being paid approximately three to four times more for the solar electricity you generate from solar photovoltaics (PV) than you pay for the electricity from your supplier. So, you would be paid both to protect the environment from CO2 emissions and yourself from rising electricity bills. A FIT is encouraging thousands of people to install solar PV on the roofs of homes and businesses across the rest of Europe. The same could happen here from April 2010.
Solar PV has proven to be a very effective way of generating clean electricity in the UK as it relies on daylight not heat, requires little or no maintenance and will generate power for forty years plus. Many new homes are now being built across the country with solar electric roof tiles; a new and innovative way of replacing traditional roof tiles with solar power that can be installed by local roofers with minimal training and are virtually unnoticeable on buildings. Many thousands of new green jobs will be created in the solar power and roofing sectors in Devon and throughout the south-west if the feed-in tariff is set at an effective rate to encourage greater take-up of the technology.
Adrian Sanders MP said “this is a great campaign that I wish every success. Solar has an important contribution to make to our energy mix.”
Robin Webster, Senior Campaigner, Energy and Climate Friends of the Earth said: “Solar PV is an essential ally in the global battle against climate change. But here in the UK, the potential of the technology has not even been recognised. If we’re going to deliver the 2020 renewable energy target, the UK is going to need contributions from all proven technologies including solar PV. We wish the campaign every success.”
Paul King Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council said "alongside other zero and low carbon technologies, solar PV has a key role to play in greening our towns and cities. Effective feed-in tariff rates for solar PV will help to move the technology into the mainstream in the UK.”
For more information, or if you would like to show your support as an individual or business, please see www.wesupportsolar.net
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