According to a recent survey by the Center for Alternative Technology (CAT), the majority of British households would consider adopting photovoltaic technology; 90 percent said they would consider it and 23 percent said they would definitely adopt the technology in their homes. . Of the 750 households surveyed, the results show a shift in general public opinion towards the practical application of renewable technology, especially if it is something that proves to be economically viable in the long term.

The long-term financial viability of all small-scale renewable projects is highly dependent on the next feed-in tariff, likely to be introduced in 2010. The principle of the tariff is to offset the expense of producing energy by non-fossil means and provide incentives for those who wish to invest in renewable plants such as photovoltaic technology. The flat rate for the megawatts fed into the national grid by small-scale renewable energy producers is paid by the existing power companies that are obliged by the government to buy the renewable megawatts, the cost of which is shared among consumers.

The survey pointed out that this high potential for adoption of photovoltaic technology would depend on the power tariff paying 50 pence per unit of energy supplied to the grid. In Germany, this exact tariff system has been used successfully to make Germany one of the world leaders both in terms of adoption of photovoltaic technology and public awareness of greener energy production.

CAT spokesperson Mark Watson commented:

“Photovoltaic systems are one of the easiest renewable energy technologies to integrate in towns and cities and, as the survey results show, they are generally liked by the general public.”