DTI Microrenewable Strategy

Solarcentury, the UK's leading solar PV company welcomes the spirit of the Blair government's draft micro-generation strategy.

UK's leading solar PV company welcomes the spirit of the Blair government's draft micro-generation strategy, but fears lack of detail In the run-up to the G8 Summit, the UK Government launches its micro-generation strategy consultation.

A key part of the consultation involves proposals for a new Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) to replace the Major Demonstration Programme (MDP), which has been building the embryonic UK photovoltaics (PV) industry for the last few years.

In the LCBP, solar PV will be married up with other members of the micro-renewables family (solar thermal, micro-wind and others), plus energy efficiency, to deliver large hybrid renewable energy projects in buildings from 2006 onwards.

solarcentury CEO Dr Jeremy Leggett said: "With around 50% of greenhouse gas emissions coming from buildings in the UK, there is enormous potential for micro-generation and energy efficiency technologies to make a big difference".

"We can already deliver zero emissions buildings today with solar PV and our sister technologies".

"The spirit of the government's move is good, what worries me is the lack of specifics." The draft document makes disappointing reading for PV in the context of the earlier 2001 and 2003 White Paper commitments to the sector that Government would roll out a '2002-2012' demonstration programme specifically for PV in line with our major competitors, i.e Japan and Germany.

Leggett said: "To date, the DTI has given no indication of the likely size of the funding pot for the new programme, nor any guarantee that it will commence on 1 April 2006 to dovetail with the end of the current programme".

"In the absence of any indication of the scale of funding, we have to be nervous".

"UK plc needs to grow the PV and other micro-generation industries if we are to compete with the exploding industries in Japan, Germany, and elsewhere".

"Companies need more certainty than this if we are to plan our businesses and appeal to the private capital beginning to flow into low carbon technologies".

"As things stand, I cannot tell my investors, or my team, that there will not be a gap in funding that will stall the UK market and reverse the growth in new business creation and employment generated by Dti programmes since 2001." Dr Leggett has written to the Prime Minister about solarcentury's concerns.

Tony Blair visited solarcentury on the morning of his September 2004 announcement that the G8 Summit would focus on the themes of climate change and Africa".

""I am sure that the current depth of concern about global warming will mean this inconsistency of support for solar PV will soon disappear." Leggett said.

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