A BRAND new solar research and training center has been opened in Cornwall.
The National Solar Centre, in St Austell in the South West of England was opened by Greg Barker, the Climate Minister, who said it marked a real mile stone in the development of the energy sector.
The BRE National Solar Centre will offer training services and conduct research, playing a pivotal role in making Britain a global competitor in the solar industries.
He said: “The new National Solar Centre will play a pivotal role in supporting the solar industry not only in the UK but with International Renewable Energy Associations. It will help establish infrastructure for industry growth in developing Technical Standards, Due Diligence, Best Practice Planning Guides, Training facilities and driving innovation through research and development.”
In his speech to he alluded to the extraordinary growth the solar industry had been through over the last two years, as well as its continued challenges.
He added that despite it being a lot of adverse publicity about the affordability of solar, it is still a great deal and the information about it being uneconomic and unaffordable was incorrect.
He said: “The opposite is true. Unit costs have fallen dramatically and it’s worth underlining, the rates of return under the new bands actually remain broadly similar to those when the FITs scheme was first launched in 2010. Together, we need to get that extremely positive message out to the wider public.
“I know just how difficult recent months have been for many of you but the industry has come through this testing period, and has definitely emerged leaner, wiser and certainly larger.
“1.8GW of solar PV is now deployed and in operation in the UK, enough energy to power around 450,000 homes. Three times as much deployment as was anticipated by the original, unreformed FITs scheme.
“Now, as we prepare to pass the 2GW threshold, we can rightly say that solar is coming of age. It is reliable, accessible, increasingly affordable and totally scalable.”
