The Solar Trade Association (STA) has welcomed the government’s Renewables Roadmap and the updated strategy lists solar as a key technology for the first time.
Solar is now recognised by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as one of the key technologies that will help the UK meet its 2020 15per cent renewable energy target.
The Department will be publishing a dedicated solar strategy this year, a move that the STA has long been calling for.
After a turbulent few years, the DECC appears to have undergone a change in attitude towards solar power. The STA has welcomed several aspects of the updated Roadmap including the fact that smaller scale projects will be given more precedence; grid issues will be identified as an area for improvement as the cost of some solar projects are vastly increased by these issues and the investment risk for independent generators is set to be minimised.
The association has concerns about new Electricity Market Reform (EMR) proposals in the Energy Bill that will potentially make it difficult for independent generators to secure a competitive price for electricity. Another area highlighted in the Roadmap addresses concerns about the technicla limits of solar power. The STA strongly dispute the findings of the document and they have argued that German engineers are already integrating far greater solar capacity into their networks.
The STA has also expressed the need for a clear explanation to government of the true potential of solar energy in the UK.
