Climate change now tops the agenda of global environmental problems. 1997 will be a critical year. In June world leaders meet for a special session at the United Nations in New York. In December a climate summit is to be held in Kyoto, Japan, aiming to set legal limits on greenhouse gases.

Climate change dictates a new attitude to energy. It is no longer a question of finding new supplies of fossil fuels – it's a question of managing the phase-out of existing oil, coal and gas, and making a switch to clean renewable energy.

Solar Technology

Energy from the sun is clean and renewable. It is so abundant, that the amount which the earth receives in 30 minutes is equivalent to all the power used by humankind in a year. We should be harnessing this direct solar power instead of relying on polluting fossil fuels.

Solar electric technology is simple silent and reliable. It is the only electricity-generating, renewable technology which is suitable for mass deployment in our towns and cities where the majority of energy is used.

Solar electricity is produced when sunlight reacts with a semi-conductor - in this case silicon - creating an electrical current. The direct current produced is converted into alternating current by passing it through a device called an inverter. This makes it suitable for use in the home and office. The system is connected to the grid so that when insufficient power is being produced, for example in the winter months, it can be supplemented by drawing electricity from the grid. Conversely, surplus electricity can be sold back to the grid.

It can be simply and easily incorporated into the design of new buildings or fitted retrospectively onto many existing buildings. One family house in Oxford has a system comprising 48 panels on a south-facing roof. Over the course of a year, the system produces enough electricity to supply all the electricity needs of the family and run an electric car.

In the UK

A clear indicator of how seriously the new Government responds to climate change will be the rate at which solar power and other renewable technologies are developed in Britain. The potential for solar electric in the UK is vast. Studies by the Department of Trade and Industry have shown that a wholesale application of the technology could generate around two-thirds of the nation's electricity requirements. In spite of this there are currently only two grid-connected solar powered homes in the UK.

Rest of the World

Japan:

The Japanese Government is undertaking the world's largest ever deployment of solar power. The programme plans to install solar electric on some 70,000 homes by the year 2000. In 1996 the Japanese solar home programme was oversubscribed five-fold due to the vast level of interest being expressed by the Japanese public and some 1,500 homes were solarised. This year Japan will solarise some 10,000 homes. The solar industry in Japan is expanding rapidly as a direct result of the 'guaranteed market' offered by the 70,000 homes programme. Last year Kyocera, the largest Japanese manufacturer, increased its sales by 50%.

USA:

The 'President's Million Roofs Programme' is already proceeding in consultation with the solar industry and the US Department of Energy. It aims to install solar power on one million domestic and commercial buildings by 2007.

Besides generating 20,000 new jobs in high technology areas and helping to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the US will see the construction of new automated solar manufacturing plants in 20 states.

Germany:

In 1990 the German Government launched the '1,000 Rooftop' programme and provided financial support to the German public to go solar. This, because of its popularity, resulted in solar being installed on 2,000 family homes. In 1995, Greenpeace Germany launched its 'Cyrus' campaign to encourage German householders to purchase a solar system. This led to 4,000 people pledging to purchase a solar system. Over the last two years around a further 1,000 homes have been installed with solar systems in Germany. All these installations obtained Federal and State government support.

Netherlands:

The Dutch Government intends to install some 250MW of solar electric systems by the year 2010. A major focus of the Dutch programme is to stimulate the development of solar electric within the construction industry, particularly volume house-builders. The largest solar housing estate in the world, comprising some 70 homes, was completed last year. In 1997 a 400 home housing project will be built in a joint development between house-building companies, the local electrical utilities and the Dutch government.

The Cost of Solar

The current cost of solar electricity in the UK means that, if it is installed on a home, it will generate electricity at about 4-5 times the present cost of purchasing conventional electricity. The costs of solar panels have dropped five-fold over the last fifteen years and are predicted to drop a further three-fold by the year 2000. These further reductions are primarily dependent upon increasing manufacturing, which is dependent on the level of growth of the global market.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is challenging the newly elected Labour Government to commit to a minimum solar programme for Britain, which will result in 50,000 solar homes by 2010.

This solar programme can be delivered without increasing Government expenditure or raising the price of electricity. Greenpeace proposes that the £17.5 million of tax payers money currently spent directly subsidising the fossil fuel industry is used to kick-start this solar programme.

Such a solar programme would transform the status of the British solar industry. The British solar industry has stated that if the Government committed to investing around £18 million a year up to 2010 they will invest £100 million into new manufacturing capacity.

This in turn would result in new solar factories and, according to the British solar industry, create some 40,000 new British jobs. It would also increase British industry's share of the global market for solar electric from 9% to 15% and would generate annual sales of £750 million.

If the new Government acts on Greenpeace's challenge then all these environmental and economic benefits can be obtained without increasing Government expenditure or raising the price of electricity. Furthermore, Britain's solar industry would be transformed into a truly world class industry.

Greenpeace has also proposed that the European Union initiates a one million solar homes programme to be completed by the year 2010. This would create a visible signal of intent and a public profile for Europe on climate change solutions. This in turn could hasten a wider transition towards renewables and energy efficiency and away from polluting energy.

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