Solar PV

Overview

Solar photovoltaic technology (or "PV" for short) uses energy from the sun to generate electricity. Common examples of its use are in solar lights, pocket calculators and watches. On a much larger scale, panels can be mounted on roofs or integrated into building facades.

Solar PV comes into its own where electricity requirements peak at times of high sunshine, for example for operating pumps in air-conditioning systems. Where this is not the case, the electricity can be fed into the electricity grid, using the grid as a large 'battery' from which electricity is retrieved when required. Several European countries have introduced generous feed-in tariffs that make this option attractive. In the UK, the sale of electricity from solar PV is made more attractive through the Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). The value of solar power is set to increase to 2 ROCs/MWh from 2009.