Commenting at this week’s EcoBuild exhibition at Olympia, PV distributor IBC SOLAR UK, stressed that the UK solar industry must adopt a long term view if it is to continue to thrive.
According to Ofgem, almost 800MW of solar PV was installed during 2011, and the UK soared to eighth in the global solar league tables. However, recent cuts to the Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs) have caused some uncertainty in the market.
“Something remarkable happened in the UK during 2011,” said Andreas Heinrichs, IBC SOLAR UK managing director. “The market grew to almost four times what we had predicted this time last year. The enthusiasm for solar PV among UK homeowners has created market momentum and it’s essential that our industry strives to maintain that.
“We have seen subsidies come and go during 30 years of being at the heart of the German solar PV industry, and our UK partners can benefit from what we’ve learnt in other regions. Even today, some markets are viable without FiTs. Installers who plan for the long term will be successful and the outlook for the industry will be sunny.”
