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How Are PV Solar Panels Working for the UK?
PV solar panels can be seen glistening from residential and commercial building across the UK, but are they performing as expected? Ofgem, the UK’s energy regulatory body, says the amount of solar power generated by the rooftop installations on homes in the UK has increased more than ten-fold since the feed-in tariff began in 2010. Over 90% of the PV solar panels were installed in England, and the rest in Scotland and Wales. This growth is expected to slow considerably since the feed-in tariff payments have been significantly cut from 43p per kwh to just 21p per kwh.
Can the PV solar panels be considered to be “working”, that is could they be considered beneficial to the UK? The stated goal of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme was to encourage deployment of additional small-scale low-carbon electricity generation with hydo power, solar power or wind power.
PV solar panels using solar power were the overwhelmingly top choice for small scale power generation with over 28,000 solar photovoltaic systems installed in the UK since 2010. Still, these solar panels account for less than one percent o the UK’s total electricity needs, with wind and hydro power accounting for far less than one percent. So, are PV solar panels working? Yes, but far too slowly to meet any government-set goals for low-carbon electricity generation.
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