Government releases more cash for solar energy

Stephen Timms, minister for energy at the DTI, said: “This latest successful round is further proof of the growing appeal of solar power in the UK. To date this Government has awarded £15m worth of grants to various projects.”

The latest funding is going into 24 projects resulting in 650kWp of generating capacity. A single kWp (kiloWatt peak) is defined is the maximum output expected on a sunny day. In the UK that equates to around 750kW hours of electricity per year, around a quarter of the average household’s needs.

The projects cover housing associations, councils, schools and businesses and include medium to large (5-100kWp) solar power installations, said the DTI. They include a Children’s Hospice in Guildford, a large housing development in Huddersfield, a cemetery in Nottingham and a school on the Isle of Wight.

“The growth and development of the solar power industry will help take us a step closer to achieving our renewable energy target of 10 per cent of electricity by 2010,” said Timms.

The Government upped its investment in solar power with the launch of the £20m Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme (MDP) in 2002.

Further information on the Programme can be found at www.solarpvgrants.co.uk. Copies of the Government’s Energy white paper are at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/index.shtml