LEMBIT ÖPIK MP CALLS FOR SOLAR POWER ACROSS WALES

2.39.50pm GMT Wed 18th Feb 2009

Lembit Öpik, Liberal Democrat MP Montgomeryshire, has joined 90 other MPs supporting the popular new campaign 'We support Solar' (www.wesupportsolar.net) signing the Commons motion 689 in support of the campaign.

The campaign is targeted at government to ensure that solar owners are rewarded for the electricity that they generate. This is known as a 'Feed-in tariff' (FIT), and when it is introduced by the Government in 2010 it could mean being paid approximately three to four times more for the solar electricity you generate from solar photovoltaics (PV) than you pay for the electricity from your supplier.

Solar PV has proven to be a very effective way of generating clean electricity in the UK as it relies on daylight not heat, requires little or no maintenance, and will generate power for forty years plus. Many new homes are now being built across the country with solar electric roof tiles; a new and innovative way of replacing traditional roof tiles with solar power that can be installed by local roofers with minimal training and are virtually unnoticeable on buildings. Many thousands of new skilled green jobs will be created in the solar power and roofing sectors in Wales if the feed-in tariff is set at an effective rate to encourage greater take-up of the technology.

Commenting on the campaign Lembit Opik MP said

"With solar PV manufacturing facilities at Wrexham, Pencoed near Bridgend and Cardiff, Wales is already the beating heart of the UK solar industry, employing hundreds of people. However, the current Government has not helped our fledgling solar PV sector through 11 years of stop-go grant policies, making it impossible for companies to invest with confidence. The new feed-in tariff policy announced by Ed Miliband should help to deliver many thousands more solar PV jobs for Wales but only if the Government works with the sector to really deliver on the policy and to do so quickly."

"Solar PV is an essential ally in the global battle against climate change and I wish the campaign every success."

Ends/diwedd

Notes to editor:

For more information, or if you would like to show your support as an individual or business, please see www.wesupportsolar.net

1/ ' We Support Solar' was established by The UK PV Manufacturers Association, a group set up by Sharp UK, Romag Ltd and Solarcentury and is endorsed by Green Alliance, the Renewable Energy Association, UK Green Building Council, Friends of the Earth, World Future Council, Greenpeace and Solaraid.

2/ EDM 689 states: "That this House welcomes the launch of the We Support Solar campaign; notes that globally solar photovoltaics (PV) will be a key climate change mitigation technology and that solar PV in the UK can play an important role in contributing to the UK 2020 renewable energy target; expresses its concern at the negative treatment of solar photovoltaics in the Government's 2008 renewable energy strategy consultation; and urges Ministers to ensure that the potential of the technology to deliver significant carbon dioxide reductions in the built environment, to make a significant contribution to the 2020 target and to deliver many tens of thousands of new green UK jobs is supported in the final renewable energy strategy document."