Solar plus storage installs and virtual power plant roll-outs are providing a route to market for installers even in the absence of feed-in tariffs, according to Ben Hill, formally of Tesla.
Speaking to Solar Power Portal, Hill said that behind the meter solar plus storage installations stood to provide a route for solar installers to stay in the market. Some installers have already chosen to leave the sector before the end of the feed-in tariff next April but there are still huge opportunities, particularly in the commercial and industrial sector.
Hill pointed to self-consumption models that were driving “a lot of markets in other countries” with homeowners seeking to use as much of their self-generated electricity as possible.
“People are not wanting to totally export, and when you read a lot of the blogs and a lot of the people who publish that they haven’t used or purchased any electricity from utilities, that’s hugely rewarding for them,” he said.
The government have a huge role to play in developing renewables in the UK, especially in incentivising residential solar installations. Having recently closed two consultations on the future regulatory landscape, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is now analysing submitted evidence and working on new proposals.
And we hope that incentives will exist in some format or another in order to encourage more residential deployment, as well as including solar plus storage as a part of any future building standards for new residential and commercial buildings.