Renewable energy innovations in the solar field are making solar panels increasingly affordable and widespread. The UK’s solar power capacity has surpassed 15 GW, and the country aims to achieve 40 GW by 2030.
The UK currently exempts residential rooftop solar panels from VAT, and this is encouraging households to install them on their homes. On the business side of things, the Smart Export Guarantee allows companies with solar panels installed to be paid for surplus energy they supply to the grid. Also, some city councils offer grants for commercial solar installations.
As energy from traditional sources becomes scarce and expensive (and inflates other costs of living and doing business), families and companies with finances and the environment on their minds will turn to solar power as a remedy.
Solar farms, however, have faced more resistance, though they are becoming more accepted. The long rows of solar panels needed to generate meaningful energy quantities require considerable land, which could often otherwise be used for agriculture. There are recent solutions to this, though, such as spacing or elevating solar panels to also allow growing crops or grazing cattle. This win-win industrial ecosystem can help realise the renewable energy predictions for solar power’s bright future.