Welcome to the Micropower Council

   

The Micropower Council represents companies and organisations active in the microgeneration sector and campaigns on behalf of its members for a genuine mass market for small scale, low and zero carbon electricity and heat generating technologies.

 

Micropower Podcast from Micropower Council on Vimeo

Micropower Council members include manufacturers and installers of microgeneration technologies as well as energy suppliers and other trade associations active in the sector.

We act as the industry's main contact point for government, opinion formers, the press, and the public and our campaigning agenda is determined by our Executive Committee members.Whilst progress has been made, the PV Legal project finds that legal and administrative obstacles to the deployment of solar PV continue to exist in many EU Member States.Press Release

All four industry associations representing UK solar power join together to clarify good returns for householders - 14th May 2012

Fears that solar PV is no longer viable are wholly misplaced

All four major trade associations representing domestic solar PV - the British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA) [1], the Micropower Council (MPC) [2], the Renewable Energy Association (REA) [3] and the Solar Trade Association (STA) [4] - have joined together to set the record straight about the current status of solar power and the Feed-in Tariff. The industry is concerned that the public may be confused about solar power and the Feed-in Tariff and would like to take this opportunity to clarify the situation.

The Feed-in Tariff was launched in spring 2010, designed to offer returns of up to 8% to homeowners looking to generate their own renewable electricity - tax free, index linked, and guaranteed for 25 years. No surprise then that we've seen over a quarter of a million domestic solar installations go in under the scheme, totalling over 1.3GW installed capacity. Two years later, the tariff is offering the same return as it did when it was first launched - yet the market is stagnant. Why?

Whilst actual rates of return are no longer exceeding Government's target range to the same extent as last year, a high level of consumer confusion around solar PV and the Feed-in Tariff may be playing a significant role in the drop off in the number of installations. The last six months have seen a stream of headlines about "drastic cuts," an "illegal consultation," "legal wrangling," "huge job losses" and "strict energy efficiency requirements". However, while the industry undoubtedly went through a difficult time, these headlines obscure a more important truth.

Thanks to drastically falling costs, solar PV remains one of the best investments around, which shields customers from rising energy bills and generates an income to boot, while helping fight climate change and strengthen energy security.

To read the full press release, please click here

CPA Green Deal Team thanked by Greg Barker

Greg Barker yesterday attended a lunch at the Royal Horseguards Hotel organised by the Construction Product Association (CPA) to thank the companies and the secondee's who participated in the CPA Green Deal Team. Over the last year, this group of industry experts, including the MPC's Charlotte Partridge, have been directly assisting and advising the government in the design of the Green Deal policy. The lunch served as a thank you to the team after a year's worth of hard work.

One of the key outputs of the team's work is the ‘Green Deal: Opportunities for Industry' report. The document has been produced by industry for industry. It is in itself an example of how collaborative working can help companies prepare for the Green Deal. It also highlights how many firms are already gearing up to enter this new market, as well as showcasing previous examples of the installation of energy efficiency measures.

Charlotte Partridge, MPC "It has been a pleasure to work as part of the CPA's Green Deal team on what is the government's flagship Green policy. It is clear that there will be many market based opportunities for companies arising from the Green Deal and we hope that this report will help companies realise these and build a successful future."

To access the ‘Green Deal: Opportunities for Industry' report, please click here

 

MPC / DECC FIT Consultation (2a and 2b) Workshop

(Confirmed attendance from Rachel Solomon Williams and Alasdair Grainger from the DECC FITs Team)

Monday 26th March 2012 [10:00 - 13:00]

Venue: Broadway House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NS

We would like to invite all industry stakeholders to an MPC & DECC FIT workshop on 26th March 2012. Registration for the workshop will be between 9:30 - 10:00. The meeting will start at 10:00 and finish at 13:00, followed by lunch. The venue is Broadway House, London (see venue details and directions below).

This workshop has been developed in close co-operation with the Department for Energy and Climate Change. DECC officials Rachel Solomon Williams, Head of FITs Review and Alasdair Grainger, Lead - Delivery and Engagement - Feed-in Tariff Team will be in attendance.

This event is free to attend for Micropower Council members. We are opening this event up to non-members who wish to attend but we will be requesting a contribution towards our costs of £100 + VAT per non-member attendee.

How to register
If you would like to attend this event, please RSVP to Sandra Morris (sandra.morris@micropower.co.uk) by Friday 16th March 2012. Please note that there are limited spaces at this workshop and attendance will be based on a first come first served basis.

To see the agenda, please click here

 

Breaking down the barriers to solar energy: a step in the right direction but more work needed

Brussels, 8 February 2012 - One year after the deadline for transposing the RES Directive, under which the EU aims to reach 20% of renewable energy sources (RES) by 2020, how well have Member States done in reducing bureaucratic barriers to the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) power? PV LEGAL, a two-and-a-half-year European initiative, answers this question in a new report looking at 12 key countries.

The results are decidedly mixed. In some countries, improvements have been observed. For example, developing a residential system is much quicker in France, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Online registration systems, less stringent permitting requirements, and one-stop shop systems have helped reduce the time required to process requests.

However, elsewhere in Europe the picture is not as bright. In Spain, overly burdensome bureaucracy is the reason for needing an incredible 89 weeks to develop a commercial rooftop system. Complying with these regulations and grid connection processes represents almost half the development cost of a project. The same is true in Bulgaria and in the United Kingdom.

"Although there has been considerable progress in the UK towards the removal of administrative obstacles, there are still several barriers around grid connection for installations larger than 4kW and Building Control requirements for domestic installations that must be addressed. Removal of unnecessary legal and administrative hurdles will be a key factor in bringing down the installed cost of solar PV, helping the industry to reduce its dependence on subsidy over time and increasing affordability" said Dave Sowden, Chief Executive of the Micropower Council, one of the PV Legal Partners.

To see the full press release, please click here

To access the full PV Legal Report, please click here

Industry welcomes forthcoming rise in feed-in tariff for microCHP

For immediate release 01 February 2011

  • Industry bodies welcome move to raise microCHP tariff as an ‘important step in the right direction'.
  • This step reflects the considerable potential for microCHP to contribute to our goals of a low-carbon economy.
  • Increasing the tariff will give more householders and small businesses the opportunity to make affordable energy savings and cut their electricity bills.
  • The number of households that benefit will depend upon the level of tariff and the wider requirements of the future Feed-In Tariff regime.

To view the full press release, please click here

Government loses Solar Subsidy Appeal (Update 5.00 pm Jan 25) 

It has been confirmed that the Appeal Court has rejected the Government's appeal against the High Court's ruling that the changes proposed in the Phase 1 consultation of the Comprehensive Feed-in-tariff.

The Government applied to the Appeal Court for leave to appeal the Appeal Court's decision to the Supreme Court. This permission was not granted. However we understand the Government does have the option to apply directly to the Supreme Court to grant permission for a further appeal.

Government has now confirmed it will take up this option and seek permission to appeal against today's court ruling that today branded its plans unlawful. In a statement shortly after the ruling Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said, "The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FITs albeit on different grounds," he said. "We disagree and are seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court."

What does this mean for FITs?

As the law currently stands, the tariff rate applicable to <4kW PV systems remains at 43p/kWh (and the corresponding previous rates for the other bands), and the court has ruled that the 12 December reference date is unlawful.

The Government has already laid before Parliament modifications to the draft licence conditions of the electricity suppliers to implement a 21p / kWh tariff for <4kW PV systems, taking effect from 3rd March 2012.

If the Government's further legal challenge is rejected then the changes taking effect from 3rd March will apply from that date. We believe that this could change in only two scenarios:

• If the Supreme Court both agrees to hear the Government's case, and overturns the Appeal Court and High Court rulings, then the Government would be able to apply the 12 December reference date


• If a new legal challenge were pursued successfully to challenge the consultation process that has resulted in changes taking effect from 3rd March. To our knowledge no-one has publicly hinted of any intention to do this.

Today's news does not therefore remove all uncertainty, but in our view it significantly increases the probability that a 43p/kWh tariff will apply to systems installed up to and including 2nd March.

Whilst Government has confirmed that the current Feed-in tariff rate for solar installations with less than 4kW capacity will not fall below the proposed 21p per kWh for all systems completed between December 12th last year and March 31st this year, we believe it important that installers make clear to customers that there remains some uncertainty around the timing of tariff rate changes.

Finally, it is also important to remember that we have yet to see Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Review consultation, which we expect to contain proposals for a more structured and predictable degression framework for the longer-term. It is, in our view, inevitable that 21p will at some point in the future be degressed further, although we do not wish to speculate on likely timings or levels.

News is still emerging on this, and we will conduct further analysis and update in due course.

Updates will be published at www.micropower.co.uk and @MicropowerCounc

To see the full pdf, please click here

To see the High Court Report, please click here