What’s the future role of photovoltaics in the UK energy mix? A discussion of recent market and policy developments
Dr Chiara Candelise, Imperial College The introduction of the Feed in Tariff (FIT) scheme has spurred photovoltaic (PV) sector in the UK, leading to a relatively unexpected increase in installed capacity since its implementation in April 2010. By the end of 2011 PV installations reached about 750MW from about 40MW at the beginning of 2010. Such market growth has definitely been policy driven, but has also been helped by the dramatic price drop experienced by global PV module prices in the last two years. Indeed, module price drops and increased installation rate have led the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to undergo a controversial review of the FIT scheme, implying a substantial cut in the tariffs to support PV deployment. On the other hand, these recent developments have allowed the UK PV industry to grow and the achievement of considerable cost reductions in UK PV system costs (including balance of system costs). Medium-long term expectations on PV technologies also seem to have increased, as shown by a target of 20GW installed PV capacity by 2020 recently suggested Read more…
Categories: Academic Papers, Energy policy, Renewables
Tags: conference 2012, European Energy in a Challenging World, FiTs, photovoltaics, UK
Sep
2012