Progress for the UK Solar Photovoltaic (PV) industry since 1992 has been made through changes in policies over the years by the government to help incentivise consumers to install microgeneration technologies, the increase in the total installed capacity is impressive and shines a light on the positive changes the government has made over the years regarding renewable energy.
From 1992 to 2001 the rate of Solar installations was growing steadily, no changes to policy, but the popularity of PV systems was increasing in general. In March 2002 MDP was launched which was the first funding programme for the installation of solar PV, Grants were allocated to contribute to the overall cost of the equipment and installation, this lasted until February 2005 and saw a definite increase in the number of Solar Panel installations over those years. Come April 2006 the Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) began, which offered grants to contribute to the installation cost of microgeneration but was swiftly changed in December of the same year to LCBP-2 which offered new funding stream for non-domestic, non-profit organisation and ran until its suspension in April of the following year (2007) due to high uptake leading to a review of the financial model within the industry.
May 2007 sees a re-launch of the LCBP-1 with an adjustment stating a capping at £2000 per kW subject to a maximum of £2500 or 50% of the overall install cost, this is considered the 2nd Phase of LCBP-1 and was evidently a marked improvement seeing an extension in March 2009 known as LCBP-1e providing a further £10 million across all technologies.
There’s plenty more information regarding the policy changes over recent years, leading up to the end of 2012 but that will have to wait till Part 2. Come back to see just how incredible the increase in Solar PV Installations has been, and remember the more renewable energy used worldwide, the better off we’ll all be.
