12.09.11
Sheffield top for solar power
Sheffield has been ranked the top city in Britain for adding the most solar power generation per household, a new league table shows.
Northern cities topped the league for solar power generation, with Leeds coming second. London has added the most renewable solar power in absolute terms, with more than 3.2 megawatts in the 15 months since the introduction of feed-in tariffs. Yet when assessed per person, it is 6th in the rankings.
Since feed-in tariffs began providing a financial motivation to install solar power, a total of 44,460 separate installations have taken place. Solar power accounts for three quarters of all low-carbon energy generation.
AEA, an energy and environmental consultancy, has calculated the rate of growth in capacity in microgeneration at about 400% since the feed-in tariff was launched in April 2010. Photovoltaic technology – solar panels – have been at the forefront, with an increase in generating capacity of about 900%.
Colin McNaught, leader of the AEA Group, suggests that the local council in Sheffield provided the driving force for such high rates of solar power generation, and believes this trend is set to continue, with more households and businesses applying for solar power installations.
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