I read a magazine whilst on a flight to Italy recently and came across an interesting article. The article was about the increasing demand for energy across the planet and what several research projects were doing to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

One statistic which was quite alarming is that just 7.7% of the solar energy in the Sahara Desert would be enough to power the entire globe for a year.  There are of course downsides to covering the entire desert with solar panels and wind farms. Studies by scientists reveal an actual increase in temperature in the Sahara as well as precipitation and vegetation. This was published on BBC news in September 2018 (Large-scale wind and solar power ‘could green the Sahara’).

So while it seems a great idea to solve our global energy problems it does have its drawbacks. Therefore, it seems sensible that we should all contribute to the efforts in lessening our reliance on fossil fuels by becoming micro energy generators on the roofs of our houses.

Whilst there is a period of payback time before we begin to benefit from free energy we all have a responsibility to protect the world in which we live. By investing now in renewables we leave a legacy to future generations.

The BBC published a report on 31st May 2019 that the UK broke a record being coal free for whole 2 weeks generating electricity from a combination of renewables and nuclear power. On 14th May Britain generated a quarter of its electricity from solar. (Britain in two-week coal-free record)

Bizarrely the UK government is set to increase VAT on solar materials from 5% to 20% as of 1st October 2019 whilst keeping VAT on coal at its current 5% level. This would appear to be at odds of encouraging households to switch to solar in a time when ‘climate change’ is a hot topic.

For those not convinced that we face a challenging time with the planet’s climate, would perhaps like to watch the following video. (On BBC iPlayer)