Sunlight to account for third of Good Energy's electricity

Sep 2, 2011 - Good Energy, which describes itself as the UK's only dedicated supplier of 100% renewable electricity, said on Wednesday that a third of its electricity would now be sourced from solar power.

The company claimed that this was a first-of-its-kind development in the British energy sector.

Good Energy said that over a typical year the share of solar power in its electricity mix would jump to about 33% from below 1% before as a result of agreements with more than 30 larger-scale solar generators which have been propped up by the government's feed-in-tariff programme. The new generators range from a holiday cottage complex in Cornwall to a factory rooftop in Yorkshire.

According to the company, the step would help it improve price stability. It said earlier this month that it would not change its electricity prices until at least 2012.

Chief executive and founder Juliet Davenport said the move demonstrated that solar PV was a viable technology in the UK and added that solar was important for a balanced renewable energy portfolio as usually when the weather was sunny it was not windy and the other way around.

Good Energy sources its electricity from more than 3,000 independent generators that produce power from wind, sun, water and through biogeneration.

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