A children's adventure playground in East London is making solar-power history by becoming the first electricity customer in the UK to receive solar justice - thanks to Solarnet - a breakthrough deal offered by energy company TXU Europe with the support of Greenpeace.
The TXU Europe-Greenpeace collaboration means that, for the first time in the UK, people with solar panels can be paid the same price for surplus electricity they export to the national grid during daylight hours, as they pay for any conventional electricity imported at night. This ends the electricity "daylight robbery" that left some customers paying three times as much for dirty electricity from fossil fuels as they were paid for the excess clean solar electricity they generated. (1)
Homerton Adventure Playground became London's first solar electric building in 1996. Since then, the East London playgroup have not been paid a single penny by its previous utility for surplus solar electricity. From today, Eastern Energy, TXU's retail arm in the UK will pay the playground 5.51p a unit for its clean solar excess - the same price as charged for conventional electricity. The playground will also receive £50 to compensate for money lost to the previous supplier.
Homerton Playground Manager, Simon Rix said,
"We started generating our own solar electricity at the Playground because we wanted to set a shining example of the energy that the future generations will rely on. Now, thanks to Eastern and Greenpeace, hundreds of children will also benefit from the money our solar panels make us."
TXU Europe's Chief Executive, Phil Turberville said,
"We are delighted that the children at Homerton will be the first to benefit from our solar fair deal. We hope now that electricity customers across the UK will seize this opportunity to switch to Eastern Energy and install solar panels on their roofs. This latest venture, supported by Greenpeace, underlines our commitment to the environment as a responsible energy company."
Solar can supply two-thirds of Britain's electricity needs and if the building is suitable, all an average family's electricity needs can be met by solar power. Solar panels will work all year round in the British climate and will still generate some electricity on a cloudy day.
Greenpeace Executive Director, Peter Melchett said,
"Our climate cannot stand the burning of much more fossil fuels. Throughout the world people are already bearing the brunt of freak weather caused by climate change. Solar panels give homeowners a chance to produce clean electricity that doesn't damage the climate - for this customers should be rewarded not ripped off."
Greenpeace began negotiations over solar "net metering" in May 1997 after the organisation mounted 30 solar electric panels on the roofs of three Peabody Trust terraced homes in Silvertown, Docklands. Overnight it doubled the number of solar homes in Britain and became the first application of solar power on social housing in this country. The Solarnet deal will also be on offer to the Silvertown residents.
The TXU offer breaks one barrier to making solar affordable to all. The cost of solar panels has dropped fivefold over the last 15 years and will plummet once a mass market for solar is established. Studies by both global business analysts, KPMG and the oil company BP Amoco, have shown that if just one large solar factory was built in Europe the price of panels will come crashing down making them cost effective. Other countries with similar climates to the UK have ambitious programmes to develop solar electric power. Net metering or even better net metering with a premium is already law in many US states and in Germany. These countries want to capture a share of the global solar market, which grew by a dramatic 32 per cent last year.
Greenpeace is campaigning for the UK Government to make net metering law and for real support for the solar industry.
Solar homes across the UK can take advantage of Solarnet by calling 0845 604 8888.
Notes for editors:
1. Electricity customers currently around seven pence a unit for electricity, nearly all of which is generated by fossil fuels which damage the climate. Solar electric users can usually sell their surplus electricity back to the utility company. Until now, most utilities paid a miserly 2 p - 4 p for each unit of power bought from solar homes, while still charging seven pence a unit to solar users needing to import additional electricity.
