Majority of UK households in favor of PV adoption

According to a recent survey by the Center for Alternative Technology (CAT), the majority of British households would consider adopting PV technology: 90% say they would consider it and 23% say they would definitely adopt the technology in their homes. . Of the 750 households surveyed, the results show a shift in general public opinion towards the practical application of renewable technology, especially if it is something that proves to be economically viable in the long term.

The long-term financial viability of all small-scale renewable projects is highly dependent on the next feed-in tariff, likely to be introduced in 2010. The principle of the tariff is to offset the expense of producing energy by non-fossil means and to provide incentives for those who wish to invest in renewable plants such as photovoltaic technology. The fixed fee for megawatts injected into the national grid by small-scale renewable power producers is paid by existing power companies that are required by the government to purchase the renewable megawatts, the cost of which is shared among consumers.

The survey noted that this high adoption potential for PV technology would depend on the feed-in tariff paying 50 pence per unit of power supplied to the grid. In Germany, this exact tariff system has been used successfully to make Germany one of the world leaders both in terms of adoption of photovoltaic technology and public awareness of greener energy production.

CAT spokesperson Mark Watson commented:

“PV systems are one of the easiest renewable energy technologies to integrate into towns and cities and, as the survey results show, are generally liked by the general public.”