A Birmingham politician has joined 90 other MPs to throw her weight behind a new campaign for solar energy, which supporters say has the potential to generate thousands of new jobs in the city.
Lynne Jones MP (Lab Selly Oak) has joined the “We Support Solar” campaign and a commons motion has been tabled in support of the initiative which aims to highlight the value of solar photovoltaics (PV).
It also aims to ensure the Government sets an appropriate rate for the solar feed-in tariff, a mechanism which will be introduced by 2010 and could mean people are paid approximately three to four times more for the solar electricity they generate from PV than they pay for the electricity from suppliers.
FITs have encouraged thousands of people to install solar PV on the roofs of homes and businesses across the rest of Europe.
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 40 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.
Supporters of PV believe thousands of new green jobs will be created in the solar power and roofing sectors in Birmingham if the feed-in tariff is set at an effective rate to encourage greater take-up of the technology.
Lynne Jones said: “The Government’s decision to introduce a feed-in tariff for renewable electricity technologies gives us an opportunity to maximise UK jobs, UK innovation and UK investment in solar PV. If we are going to deliver our 2020 renewable energy targets, solar PV will need to be an important part of the mix.”
Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: “Alongside other zero and low carbon technologies, solar PV has a key role to play in greening our towns and cities.”
