Martin Lewis, the personal finance journalist and brains behind the Money Saving Expert website, is due to promote the benefits of solar PV electricity this afternoon when he features on the Jeremy Vine BBC Radio2 show.

Lewis will be appearing on Vine’s afternoon show today at around 13:00GMT to talk about the benefits of switching to solar PV.

An avid supporter of solar power, Lewis will discuss the financial benefits of installing solar PV panels to your home with the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) a key focus of the financial advantages along with reduced energy bills.

As part of his argument in support of solar PV, Lewis will also talk about the widely available offers from green energy firms and energy suppliers that offer to provide your solar panels and installation for no cost and you repay the fee using the money received from the Feed-in Tariff and saved through your energy bills.

On his website, Lewis says: “You can benefit in two ways. First there’re the electricity bill savings. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that typical solar panels can produce c.40% of a home’s leccy.

“This means a typical family could slash a dazzling £120-ish off their bills, depending on how much sun you get and your roof size. Of course, if electricity costs go up, you’ll save even more.

“The other bonus is that a new government scheme pays c. £800/year for all the solar energy you produce, even if you use it yourself. Bizarrely, the cash from this scheme massively eclipses the electricity bill savings.”

To listen to Martin Lewis, tune your radio to 88-91FM or listen live on the BBC Radio2 website by clicking here at 13:00. You can request quotes for Solar PV installations at Solar Guide or calculate feed-in profit with the Solar PV Calculator.

British Gas has added the Baxi Ecogen Micro-CHP (Combined Heat and Power) to its range of boilers to maintain the UK’s leading gas and electricity supplier’s investment into new green technologies.

The energy supplier has recently added a solar pv and solar water heating panel package to its vast array of offers, and now it has partnered with boiler manufacturer Baxi to offer the highly regarded Ecogen to consumers.

The British Gas Baxi Ecogen micro-CHP is a revolutionary wall-hung combined heat and power appliance that can provide efficient gas central heating and hot water like any other boiler, but also generates electricity for use in your home.

With a micro-CHP system fitted you can provide your home with heating and hot water generated at a low cost as well as two thirds of your home’s electricity requirements according to field trials untaken by Baxi.

By using this electricity to power your household appliances it means you can buy less electricity from your energy supplier, potentially sell back any unused electricity, lower your electricity bills and reduce you carbon footprint.

It looks and works like any conventional boiler. However, the system uses a special Stirling engine that is heated by burning gas. The unit responds to a heat demand of up to 6kW by igniting the engine gas burner. The heat causes helium inside the engine to expand, pushing a piston up and down between a copper coil to generate up to 1kW of electricity – like an alternator in a car.

It looks like a standard boiler, so it can be easily mounted in a kitchen, garage or utility as a direct replacement for a previous unit.

The Baxi Ecogen offers its maximum cost efficiency when you use electricity as its being generated by the system, for example doing your washing in the evening when the heating is on.

The Ecogen comes with a built-in energy meter so you can see how much electricity is being produced and comes with a range of controls to control room and hot water temperature to further reduce the cost of your bills.

According to British Gas, 1.5 million boilers are replaced in the UK each year. And it’s estimated that by 2015, micro-CHP units will represent 30 per cent of these replacements, so it’s a viable technology for the future.

More information: British Gas Baxi Ecogen Boiler

Located in the Solway Firth, Robin Rigg, the 180MW 60-turbine offshore wind farm, was officially opened on Wednesday after generating power for the first time earlier this year.

The Robin Rigg wind farm – E.ON’s third offshore plant after Blyth and Scroby Sands – is now in full operation. According to E.ON, the Robin Rigg wind turbines will be capable of generating enough renewable energy to supply the electricity requirements of 117,000 homes each year. In the process, up to 235,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions are set to be displaced annually.

Extolling the virtues of the Robin Rigg wind farm, Michael Lewis, the European Renewables Managing Director for E.ON, said: “Marking the completion of one of the UK’s largest offshore wind farms is a proud moment for the entire team and it’s fantastic to be able to see the 60 turbines turning and generating renewable electricity.

“Working offshore always brings huge challenges, but we’ve relished the opportunity and look forward to our next major project.”

Domestic electricity consumers can avail of E.ON’s green energy ambitions by choosing its GoGreen product, which matches 100 per cent of the energy used by customers with electricity generated from renewable sources; the package also promises to offset 1 tonne of carbon dioxide emissions per gas central heating customer or household.

Commenting on the official launch of the Robin Rigg wind farm, the Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP, who is the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate change, said: “The completion of Robin Rigg brings the UK one step closer to meeting its renewable energy targets and the team should be very proud of that.

“Offshore wind is an important part of the UK’s future energy mix but also has the potential to bring a huge amount of investment to the country.

“I hope and believe that the scale of the project at Robin Rigg points to the great things to come for the industry and Great Britain.”

E.ON’s official unveiling of the Robin Rigg wind farm provides a welcome boost to the UK’s green energy aspirations amid recent negative press.

Earlier in the week, it was widely reported that energy department cuts would place a £9 billion clean coal programme at risk of being scaled back or scrapped completely.

On Wednesday, research by Dr Sarah Darby from the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI) suggested that smart meters may not result in significant household energy savings.

Scotland’s first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Alex Salmond, has informed the Scottish Parliament that he aims to confer new powers on the state-owned utility Scottish Water in a bid to turn Scotland into “the world’s first hydro-economy”.

It is thought the new powers would enable Scottish Water to develop an extensive portfolio of wind farms, ‘green’ power stations and hydro projects, however, if Mr Salmond wishes to realise his green ambitions, he must continue to resist the UK Government’s efforts to dismantle and reorganise Scottish Water.

One of Scotland’s few remaining state-owned firms, Scottish Water possesses all the credentials to succeed as a major player in the green renewable energy sector.

Currently positioned as the UK’s fourth largest water utility, Scottish Water comprises assets worth around £5.5 billion and annual revenues of approximately £1 billion. Crucially, Scottish Water owns some 80,000 acres of land, much of which is said to be ideal for the creation of wind and hydro energy projects.

Turning Scotland into a ‘hydro-economy’ may be a political stretch too far – and one that perhaps ought to be expected ahead of the Scottish elections in May – but any intention to develop green renewable schemes should be encouraged on environmental grounds.

If Scotland were able to harness substantial quantities of energy from onshore wind farms and hydro schemes, the nation would benefit from lower carbon emissions and, potentially, reduced fuel costs. Domestic energy consumers in the UK can already choose to power homes and fuel central heating systems via renewable sources, the availability of which would surely increase if Scottish Water is given more room to grow.

Mr Salmond’s own economic advisors and the UK Government are thought to be keen on raising funds through the mutualisation of Scottish Water, which would save the taxpayer £140 million per year in subsidies and generate £2 billion for the UK Treasury and £1 billion for the Scottish Government. A mutualised Scottish Water would also produce revenue ahead of anticipated spending cuts of £3.7 billion, which may be introduced next month.

The fate of Scotland as a hydro-economy appears to hinge on political, not environmental, factors.

The legislation Mr Salmond has introduced to the Scottish Parliament would allow Scottish Water to defend itself against mutualisation. The UK coalition Government requires the support of the Labour Party to amend the legislation to enable mutualisation, which would help offset spending cuts.

The value of Scottish Water as a producer of renewable energy appears to be of secondary importance.

British Gas has waded into the domestic solar industry by launching a new scheme designed to benefit more than 12 million homeowners in the UK.

As with several solar panel installers before it, British Gas hopes to capitalise on the potentially lucrative Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), which were introduced by the previous Labour Government.

At present, every unit of energy generated under the Fits Scheme is worth 41.3p per KWh to homeowners regardless of whether or not the energy is consumed at the time – users can earn more money through export tariffs, which feed energy to the National Grid.

The Feed-in Tariff requires the installation of solar panels, however, which are not exactly inexpensive in the current economic climate. British Gas aims to solve the problem of costs by selling homeowners two distinct packages.

The first solar package has been named the ‘rent-a-roof’ scheme, which works by having British Gas install the panels at no cost to homeowners. Instead of owning the solar panels, customers derive a portion of their benefits by renting them from British Gas.

Under the rent-a-roof scheme, homeowners benefit from the electricity generated during the day but do not receive any income from the Feed-in Tariff; indeed, British Gas would pocket the cash from the incentive over the scheme’s 25-year period.

The rent-a-roof scheme is likely to appeal to homeowners who wish to benefit from clean, renewable energy but who cannot or are unwilling to spend money on solar panel installations.

Unfortunately, the rent-a-roof scheme is limited to the first 1,500 British Gas customers who apply.

British Gas will also provide two-year interest-free loans to customers who wish to install and own their own solar panels.

Supplied by Hitachi Capital, the British Gas loan aims to provide the necessary upfront costs – typically between £10,000 and £15,000 – to install solar panels.

Customers can benefit from the loan by generating their own power and exporting energy to the Grid under the Feed-in Tariff scheme. Returns can be in the region of 5% AER or around £1,000 p/a and can be estimated via Solar Guide’s Solar Panel Calculator.

The Managing Director of British Gas New Energy, Jon Kimber, said: “Solar power will revolutionise the way British homes generate and use energy.

“Customers reap the benefits of this technology to cut their electricity bills, reduce their carbon footprint and earn a yearly income”.

Note: For more information about British Gas Solar installations call 0800 077 4106

Many things in life are usually too good to be true and when someone offers something for nothing, there is normally a catch involved.

On this basis, companies such as Isis Solar, HomeSun and A Shade Greener may have a hard time convincing the general public that their business models are above board.

The firms are offering to install solar panels worth around £15,000 on homes at absolutely no cost to the homeowner; furthermore, households will benefit from onsite-generated electricity for the 25 years following installation.

By anybody’s standards, such a deal is the equivalent of something for nothing (save the odd cup of tea and mild inconvenience when the installers turn up).

The solar panel fitters aim to take advantage of the previous administration’s Feed-in-Tariffs, which provide cash for green energy exported to the National Grid.

In return for agreeing to house the solar panels for a 25-year period – the duration of time applicable to the Feed-in Tariffs – homeowners can use the electricity generated by the photovoltaic cells on their rooftops during the day.

HomeSun’s Bill Sneyd believes that most customers would save around 30 per cent on their existing electricity bills.

The solar firms will also maintain the solar panels over the 25-year agreement, which applies to the home and not the homeowner, whilst insuring the cells against theft, damage or vandalism.

After the 25-year period ends, customers would not receive any Feed-in Tariffs but it should still be possible to generate electricity for use in the home or to be exported back to the grid.

Not all homes in Britain will be able to avail of the solar panel incentive; HomeSun is only interested in houses as far north inland as Nottingham and Hull and Liverpool on the coasts.

Homes must also have sufficient roof space – around 30 square metres – that is south-facing, unshaded and pitched at 40 degrees or thereabouts. Solar Guide’s easy-to-use Solar PV Feed-in Tariff Calculator will show you exactly how many panels you can fit on your roof and the finacial benefits from the Feed-in Tariff that you would receive.

HomeSun install smaller systems for £500 at a monthly charge of £5 per month, which represents the loss of Feed-in Tariff income.

In return for spending £11,000-£16,000 on each household excluding maintenance, repairs, etc., the solar panel firms could net up to £1,450 per year per household over the duration of the deal.

The UK’s solar PV electricity market could grow five fold in 2010 and 30 times over by 2015 as a result of new feed-in tariffs, according to analysis by industry-focussed assurance, tax and advisory service PricewaterhourseCoopers (PwC).

The analysis found the widespread roll out of solar PV in the UK has suffered due to a lack of incentives for small-scale domestic installations, complexity of funding and planning restrictions.

However, feed-in tariff style grants and funding have rapidly increased installations in European countries with some nations seeing an annual increase of installations in excess of 300 per cent in the first year of the tariffs being available. And with the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme – also known as the Feed-In Tariff – being implemented to allow UK homeonwers who generate their own electricity receive regular payments for the energy they supply, PwC Renewables Director Daniel Guttman believes UK residents could flock in the direction of Solar PV power in 2010.

He said: “The significant expansion that may be just around the corner will change today’s ‘cottage industry’ into a much more professionally organised sector.

“The PV market will become more sophisticated with more complex products and a greater focus on accountability for system performance.

“The industry will need to adapt and develop quickly to ensure that as much of the opportunity in terms of job and value creation is captured within the UK.

“Companies that have been successful so far have benefited from investment in order to fund expansion.

“Further investment will be required in order to train for and fund the rapid expansion expected. New entrants are likely to expand into the UK in coming years.

“We believe that this will be true across much of the value chain, but particularly downstream around installations.”

The study conducted by the advisory service called ‘On the brink of a bright future? Insights on the UK solar photovoltaic market’ found that the majority of UK PV installations are small domestic panels like in Germany and France while large-scale solar farms are more common in countries likes Italy and Spain.

PwC claim to have got the five-fold installation improvement from UK industry observers who’d been interviewed as part of the study which also suggested the market survey expressed concern that there are too few certified installers to meet the potential demand.

The group says there needs to be sufficient investment in infrastructure, skill and training for the UK to fully benefit from solar power.

PwC Sustainability and Climate Change Director Gus Schellekens added: “The focus on PV is timely with recently published roadmap documents outlining the future global potential for PV technologies.

“While its use in the UK is small today, PV has a promising future if supported by strong government policy that sustains early deployments and supports the technology’s transition to cost competitiveness.”

With alternative energy power sources for the home becoming more and more accessible and potentially a real consideration against traditional power supplies, the new Clean Energy Cashback scheme could be the persuading factor for many homeowners and communities looking to react with the times and switch to microgeneration.

The scheme, also referred to as feed-in tariffs, means homeowners, businesses, organisations and community groups could all receive up to £1,000 from the government annually and reduce their bills by generating their own electricity with a small-scale green energy installation.

Under the scheme, which was launched on April 1, you can receive two payments – one for generating your own electricity and a second if you export electricity you don’t need back to the grid.

Solar PV panels, wind turbines, hydroelectricity, anaerobic digestion and micro-combined heat and power such as the Baxi Ecogen all qualify under the microgeneration banner, giving customers a wide variety of options best suited to their location and requirements. And with grants available for the cost of the systems, the Clean Energy Cashback scheme is further evidence of a firm government push towards alternative energy solutions to reduce the nation’s CO₂ emissions.

To put it into perspective, an average-sized 2.5kW solar photovoltaic system costing £12,500 (before discounting a grant fee to help cover the installation cost) will entitle you to a generation tariff of 41.3p per kilowatt hour and an additional 3p for every kWh exported back to the grid. Experts are predicting a solar PV return of between 7 and 10 per cent.

Feed-in tariffs are fairly well established outside of the UK. Germany successfully introduced a similar scheme in 2000 which have generated good success despite payment levels being cut. The French government launched feed-in tariffs a year later and have recently upped the rates for solar PV, geothermal and biomass systems. And photovoltaic electricity generation has become the most popular technology in Spain since the country gave the go-ahead to a feed-in tariff legislation in 2007.

Having come under fire from opposition parties – most notably the Liberal Democrats – the incumbent Labour Government has finally announced revisions to its proposed feed-in tariffs (FITs). The tariffs are available to any household, business or community that generates electricity from various renewable sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines.

Essentially, this means money is paid to those who produce so-called ‘green’ power which can be fed back into the National Grid. Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, claimed the new feed-in tariffs demonstrate Labour’s ambitiousness in bringing small-scale low-carbon electricity generation online. Predictably, however, the proposed feed-in tariffs have attracted strong criticism on a number of fronts.

The new feed-in tariffs offer fixed prices for a set period of time. In terms of numbers, retro-fitted solar photovoltaic panels (PV) will attract the highest feed-in tariff of 41.3p/kWh, whilst micro-wind turbines will be subject to a tariff of 34.5p/kWh. According to Mr Miliband, the plans “represent a significant level of ambition and are comparable to countries that are leading in this area”; in fact, Mr Miliband also claimed a typical domestic installation of a 2.5 kilowatt peak photovoltaic system would earn the household £900 each year and save £140 on its annual electricity bill. Whilst these numbers may seem appealing, there remains a degree of uncertainty as to how realistic they are, which clouds the issue of return on investment. Based on Mr Miliband’s £900/year prediction, the ROI is likely to fall somewhere between 5 and 8%, which is considerably short of the Renewable Energy Association’s target of 10% (which happens to be the typical level in Germany).

Perhaps the most contentious issue surrounding the Government’s new feed-in tariffs is that of its ambitiousness in terms of overall production; indeed, despite the increased tariffs, Mr Miliband has stressed the aim to produce 2% of the country’s electricity via small-scale low-carbon systems (or ‘microgeneration’) by 2020 remains unchanged. Campaigners claim that a 6% output is realistic, which may appear insignificant but is actually the equivalent of two Sizewell B sized nuclear power stations. Therefore, it would seem microgeneration is not a top priority for the current Labour Government.