{"id":44436,"date":"2014-07-01T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-01T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=612ab40716e380df707b9afbb2cd5af1"},"modified":"2014-07-01T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-01T11:00:00","slug":"speech-commercial-rooftop-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=44436","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Commercial rooftop solar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Many thanks for the opportunity to speak at today\u2019s conference.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d particularly like to thank Reza Shaybani and the BPVA, for having pulled together such an impressive event.<\/p>\n

I understand some 300 people are here today, representing hundreds of organisations\u2026from solar developers and installers, to property companies, project managers and financiers.<\/p>\n

Today I want to make the case for you to focus on solar in your investment plans.<\/p>\n

Solar, a technology which is intuitive and easy to install.<\/p>\n

Solar, a technology which is popular \u2013 with Government figures showing that over 80% of the public support it.<\/p>\n

And solar, a technology which \u2013 crucially \u2013 is amongst the cheapest and most cost-competitive of all technologies in the renewables family.<\/p>\n

Last year we published our ground-breaking Solar Strategy. Ambitious, comprehensive, forward-looking\u2026<\/p>\n

The first such Strategy of any European country.<\/p>\n

A strategy designed to drive deployment up and costs down.<\/p>\n

Today I\u2019d like to leave you with three thoughts.<\/p>\n

First, solar has made huge strides in the UK in the last few years.<\/p>\n

But second, there is much more to do. Particularly in the all-important rooftop sector, which is the focus of today\u2019s conference.<\/p>\n

And third, this Government is not just a spectator. We are committed to driving rooftop solar deployment. And we are putting in place a raft of incentives to do just that – overcoming both financial and non-financial barriers to encourage a revolution in the installation of UK rooftop solar.<\/p>\n

With this clear Government direction, I hope that you will leave today\u2019s conference energised and ready to bring solar \u2013 at scale \u2013 into your organisations.<\/p>\n

So let me just reflect on solar\u2019s extraordinary success in recent years.<\/p>\n

The graph on the screen behind me shows solar deployment since 2010.<\/p>\n

You may have heard that, when I reformed solar tariffs in 2011, I was accused by many of killing the sector stone dead.<\/p>\n

Well, that is quite an afterlife!<\/p>\n

As you can see, we\u2019ve seen an incredible growth in solar. From almost nothing in 2010, to over 3.2GW currently deployed.<\/p>\n

Most of this \u2013 the blue bars on the chart \u2013 has been supported by the Government\u2019s Feed-in Tariff. Over half a million homes now have solar on their roofs, thanks to this subsidy.<\/p>\n

By way of illustration, this 3.2GW is enough to power some 600,000 homes.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, during the day, solar supplied over 8% of the electricity on the UK grid.<\/p>\n

Power which is, of course, clean and popular.<\/p>\n

But power which also brings many other benefits.<\/p>\n

The National Solar Centre estimates that solar creates some 14,000 jobs in the UK \u2013 up and down the country.<\/p>\n

According to the Renewable Energy Association, investment in solar has brought some \u00a32.2 billion into the British economy in 2012\/13 alone.<\/p>\n

And the export possibilities are endless\u2026with countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and \u2013 most recently \u2013 India setting hugely ambitious targets to deploy solar at scale.<\/p>\n

Now, why has this happened?<\/p>\n

The biggest single reason is the fall in the price of solar. This has been quite spectacular.<\/p>\n

When I became Minister, the typical household installation cost north of \u00a315,000.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now \u00a35,000 and falling. This brings it within the grasp of many more households. Even IKEA, that paragon of value and Scandinavian thrift, is now starting to sell domestic panels in its stores.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s every sign that the price will continue to fall. Allowing us to stretch our \u2013 generous but limited \u2013 subsidy budget ever further, supporting even more solar in the UK.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s another reason why solar has become so big in the UK. Innovation.<\/p>\n

New centres of innovation have sprung up around the country to research cutting-edge applications of solar\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026from Oxford to London, Loughborough to Cornwall.<\/p>\n

So, for example, excellent innovative companies are developing high-technology, next generation products.<\/p>\n

Oxford PV and Polysolar, for example, are designing new materials which can replace glass\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026turning the very windows of our buildings into solar panels\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2026making skyscrapers into power generators.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, SolarCentury is adapting to new Solar Shingle technology, which will allow you to install aesthetically-pleasing solar into the very fabric of your roofs.<\/p>\n

There are many other examples. Some of you may have seen the BBC reports last week about Liverpool University\u2019s research into concentrated solar, using bath salts \u2013 of all things \u2013 to reduce the price of solar panels.<\/p>\n

Now, many in the industry would say that much of this growth in solar has come from large-scale fields.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not true. I\u2019ve personally seen great examples of solar roofs across the country.<\/p>\n