Weekly News Round-Up - 21/10/13
Energy price hikes, Lego bricks inspiring the future of Solar PV and the full breakdown of your household energy bills; it’s the Duncan Renewables Weekly News Round-Up!
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British Gas to raise energy prices by 9.2% – BBC News (17/10/13)
After SSE was the first major energy company to announce a price hike of 8,2% from 15th November 2013, British Gas, another one of the ‘Big 6’ UK energy companies is also set to raise energy bills.
Outdoing SSE, British Gas announced this week that dual-fuel bills will be going up by 9.2% from 23 November.
Although the Centrica, British Gas’ parent company, “understands the frustration” of prices rising faster than incomes; the average household bill is still set to increase by an average of £123 per year. The increase, which will affect nearly eight million households in the UK, includes an 8.4% rise in gas prices and a 10.4% increase in electricity prices.
Which of the biggest UK energy companies will announce price hikes next? Have you considered investing in renewable energy to combat raising energy prices?
Read more about the aftermath of the announcement here
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‘Lego-like’ studs improve solar efficiency – Imperial College London (18/10/13)
Scientists from Imperial College London have achieved a 22 percent increase in solar power panel efficiency through covering their surface with aluminium studs that bend and trap light inside the absorbing layer.
At the microscopic level, the studs make the surface of the solar panels look similar to the interlocking building bricks played with by children across the world.
As well as improving efficiency, aluminium is considerably cheaper than previous materials used to build solar panels which could even push down the initial start-up costs for solar PV. If this technology proves to be successful in the future, researchers claim that there would be the added “possibility of making flexible solar panels that could be applied to any flat or curved surface, which could be used to power everything from domestic appliances to portable electronics like laptops.”
Read more here
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Infographic: Breakdown of UK household energy bills – DECC (17/10/13)
What are you actually paying for in your annual household energy bills? DECC released a fantastic info-graphic this week with the full breakdown.
With 47% contributing to wholesale energy costs; could you reduce your bill by investing in renewables?
See the full info-graphic here
