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 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. In the UK, the sale of electricity from solar PV is made more attractive through the Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs), with 1MWh from solar PV being worth 2 ROCs. A feed-in tariff from April 2010 is aimed at encouraging more domestic installations.