Why Renewables?

Renewable energy or clean energy is important for varied reasons primarily reducing environmental impacts on the earth and creating sustainable energy for our future generations.

Solar electricity is a green, renewable energy and does not release any harmful carbon dioxide or other pollutants.

Protecting wildlife is crucial as coal mines require massive quantities of water to remove impurities from coal at the mine. At coal-fired power stations large volumes of water are used for producing steam and for cooling systems. When this water is removed from a lake or river, the fish and other aquatic life can be affected, as well as animals and people who depend on the aquatic resources.

The burning of coal creates solid waste, called ash, which is composed primarily of metal oxides and alkali. Nuclear-fuelled power stations create waste which is radioactive for thousands of years. Renewable energy therefore reduces this waste material.

Lastly there are no exhaust or solid waste emissions from a solar PV system.

The Energy Company Obligation Scheme transitioned from ECO3 to ECO4 in July 2022 and allows people over the next 4-years to apply to have solar panels installed with it possibly being fully-funded.

LONG-TERM BENEFITS

Research from the MCS suggests that the benefits of installing Solar Panels (PV) include:

Reducing your electricity bills

Earn money on the electricity that you produce by selling excess energy back to the grid using the Smart Export Guarantee.

Store excess electricity

Cut your carbon footprint

Low maintenance

Invest in the future and reduce your reliance on the National Grid

Cut your electricity Bills*

Sunlight is free, so once you’ve paid for the initial installation, your electricity costs will be reduced. Find out how much you could save by using the Solar Energy Calculator.

Cut your carbon Footprint

Solar electricity is low carbon, renewable energy. A typical home solar PV system could save around one tonne of carbon per year, depending on where you live in the UK.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS

UK government vows 10-fold increase the use of electric cars by 2030.

Introducing more salary sacrifice schemes and grants.

The benefits of Electric cars include:

- lower servicing and maintenance costs

-zero rate of vehicle excise duty

-cheaper to refuel than petrol or diesel vehicles

While the initial upfront purchase price of an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle can be higher, this is usually offset by lower running costs.

Electric vehicles offer savings including*:

A full charge in a pure electric vehicle will give a typical range of over 200 miles and will cost approximately £8-12 if charging at home. Driving 200 miles in a petrol or diesel car will cost around £26-32 in fuel, which can be three or four times more than the cost of charging the electric car.

The cost savings will be most significant when owners charge at home and have access to an off-peak overnight electricity tariff.

There are fewer mechanical components in an electric vehicle compared with conventional vehicles, which often results in lower servicing and maintenance costs.

Pure EVs have a zero rate of vehicle excise duty.

From 25 October 2021, only zero emission vehicles – those emitting 0g/km CO2 – qualify for the cleaner vehicle discount. All other vehicles, regardless of their emissions status will be required to pay the Congestion Charge. The lower or zero emissions of plug-in vehicles mean that they will attract lower charges from clean air zones being implemented around the UK and London’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ)

Free parking for electric vehicles is available in some towns and cities.

*Based on information from The Energy Savings Trust website.