Feed-in Tariff Program Works: Britain Will Be the Fastest Growing Photovoltaic Solar Market in 2010

It has taken only three months for Britain's new feed-in tariff program for renewable technologies to start paying dividends, in particular by sparking the solar industry.

According to Ownergy consulting firm, 20.7 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy has been installed since the feed-in tariffs were put into place April 1.  The residential sector has led the charge in the cross-over to alternative energy, especially solar power.  To understand the country's growth-rate, consider this:  in April there were 408 registered residential installations; at the end of July the total number was 4,541.

Another consulting firm, iSuppli, has released a report which projects the United Kingdom to be the fastest growing solar market in 2010.  According to the report, by the end of the year Britain will have 96 megawatts of installed photovoltaic solar power.  This number represents a 1,500 percent increase from 2009's installed capacity of 6 MW. 

Britain's meteoric growth rate nearly doubles second place, Spain.  The report expects the growth to slow down, but even still, it projects photovoltaic installations in the U.K. to rise 50% every year until 2014.

Henning Wicht, a senior director for iSuppli explains, "With leading solar country Germany cutting its FITs (feed-in tariffs), the focus of the PV world is shifting to places with more favorable incentives—making the United Kingdom a solar hotspot this year.”

Read the full story at RenewablebEnergy World: Strong Growith of Renewable Energy in UK