Following Feed-in-Tariff cuts in the UK from 43 pence towards 21 pence (March 2012) and 16 pence (August 2012) the UK solar market is showing signs of recovery. After each cut the demand for solar panels has dropped by about 90-95%, since it makes more sense to install just before, rather than in the month just after a cut has been made. However, the number of installations of solar panels has been picking up significantly since the August cuts, with more people realizing it still makes financial sense to go solar..
Looking at the number of weekly solar panel installations, we can see some clear growth trends of the solar market in the UK. The above graph shows the weekly installations below 4kWp in the UK, since the introduction of the Feed-in-Tariff in April 2010. Please note that the scale is logarithmic, which means a straight line shows continuous growth (e.g. 4% every week). Apart from the tumultuous months surrounding FiT cuts at the end of 2011 and start of 2012, three clear periods of growth are shown:
- April 2010 – October 2011 – Feed-in-tariff of 41 pence:
Growth of 4% per week - April 2012 – July 2012 – Feed-in-tariff of 21 pence:
Growth of 12% per week - August 2012 – October 2012 – Feed-in-tariff of 16 pence:
Growth of 10% per week