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.
Solar electric (photovoltaic or 'PV') panels produce electricity directly from sunlight, the Earth's primary source of energy. Despite its rainy climate the UK would get 2/3 of its electricity from solar if all suitable roofs were equipped with solar panels i . Even on overcast days there is enough diffuse daylight for solar electric panels to generate some electricity.
If it were possible to harness all the sunlight that hits the UK in one average day it would be enough to fulfil the whole of the UK's electricity needs for 2 whole years ii .
Why is Greenpeace Campaigning for Solar Power? Greenpeace is campaigning to introduce solutions, which over time will end the use of fossil fuels - the major cause of climate change. Solar electric panels can generate pollution-free electricity in our towns and cities. The handful of buildings in the UK currently using solar electricity could, with Government and industry support, become millions.
Greenpeace Executive Director, Peter Melchett said, ''Prescott and Meacher have done a good job sticking to the 20% target and in stressing the need for much deeper future cuts in fossil fuel emissions to protect the climate. Now the Government has to deliver - wind, wave and solar industries will have to supply all our electricity - but in the UK these big businesses of the future are being ignored while New Labour worries about the needs of the declining oil industry" Significantly, the Government has outlined its long-term strategy in the following two areas:
Greenpeace believes that given the environmental imperatives now facing all countries the stage is set for explosive growth in the market for solar electric power. Why is it still not happening?
Solar energy is a promise for the future. It is a clean and sustainable source of energy that can provide a significant share of our energy needs. It is not only from an environmental point of view that solar energy has a future: from an economic perspective prospects abound. Large multinationals such as Shell, BP and Siemens are focusing their efforts in the field of sustainable energy, most particularly on photovoltaic solar energy.
This study is based on analysis of existing studies updated by interviews with experts in solar energy. It considers the factors that influence the price of photovoltaic systems: technological developments, subsidies and the scale of production.
Residential, commercial and public sector electricity demand is responsible for about half of global electricity consumption. Solar energy can be a powerhouse behind our commercial and residential buildings even in colder climates. The integration of photovoltaics (PV) cells, which convert sunlight into electricity, into roofs and facades could turn buildings from net users of energy into net generators. Switching from fossil fuels to solar will make a major contribution in preventing dangerous levels of climate change.
