BIRMINGHAM’S residents are greener than the rest of the UK, according to a new survey.
A huge proportion of the Midlanders say they would act in an environmentally friendly way, even if there was no financial incentive.
In a survey of 2,000 people by The Eco Experts 40% of Birmingham residents said the main reason they would install or had installed solar PV panels was because they are good for the environment, with the fact they can earn and save you about £800 a year, a secondary reason.
This compared to a national average of 31%.
On top of this almost half of people from Birmingham (48%) said even if there was no financial incentive, they would still install solar panels.
Again this was much higher than the national average of 36%.
A spokesperson from energy efficiency specialists The Eco Experts said: “It is wonderful that the people of Birmingham are so switched on to the benefits that renewable energy can have on the planet. It is better to use the clean energy you can get from solar panels than damage Earth with fossil fuels.
“However, solar panels don’t just help the environment; they also mean you are not prisoner to the extortionate price hikes from energy companies. They can save and earn you up to £800 a year through not paying energy bills and by receiving payment for electricity generated from the government’s Feed-in-Tariff. Not only this, solar experts have publicly said, solar energy is a better investment than putting your money in the bank.”
Despite the feed in tariff decreasing today (November 1) to 15.44p/kwh (it was previously 16p/kwh)
installing solar panels is still a great way to save and make money.
Reza Shaybani, chairman of the British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA): “The feed-in-tariff was actually introduced as an incentive and was never designed to be there forever. It had lots of ups and downs and I actually call it the feed-in-tariff fiasco. However, we must not forget the other compelling reasons why we should install solar PV.
“They have a ROI of eight to 12 per cent which is still remarkable compared to banks, and of course the price of solar PV has come down more than any other technology in just a few years. Solar energy is clean, cheap and secure.”
The news comes as Birmingham City Council welcomes a £600m retrofitting deal to improve energy efficiency for 60,000 homes.
The Birmingham Energy Savers scheme will see Carillion Energy Services install energy efficiency measures such as insulation and energy efficient boilers.
