Busiest year on record for solar company

THE Cop26 conference, together with gas and electricity price hikes, have seen a Burton company witness its busiest year ever as it closes out a decade in business.

As a result of Cop26, Project Solar, the UK’S largest retailer and installer of solar panels, saw its website visits up 67.5% and website enquiries up 42.7% on the same time period in 2020.

The Lancaster Business Parkbased company also recorded data comparing the COP26 phase with the previous six-week period in 2021. Website visits were up 23.7% and website enquiries were up 31.6% in October/ November compared to the September / October phase – the most dramatic uplift in interest in the company’s 10-year history.

More generally, UK search data from Google shows that there was a 50% increase in searches for ‘solar panels’ year on year in October, and an 83% increase in search for ‘solar energy’ from August to October in the lead up to COP. Such intense interest in solar panels can be attributed to the build up to COP26 activity in Glasgow with the raising of issues and heightened media interest around climate change in the run to the event.

Coupled with the impact of Cop26 has been price hikes for gas and electricity which have caused consumers to consider alternative energy sources. Google search trends in the UK show a +1275% search volume increase in ‘gas price rises’ in the last three months, a concerning statistic as we move into the winter months when home heating bills will increase.

Solar panels are a direct way to reduce ongoing energy bills as they are designed to absorb energy from daylight and convert it into energy for domestic use. The solar power systems derive clean, pure energy from the sun, helping combat greenhouse gas emissions and reducing collective dependence on fossil fuel such as coal and natural gas.

Simon Peat, CEO of Project Solar UK said: “People are actively seeking out options to run their domestic appliances without harming the environment. Solar panels, used alone or as part of a wider energy solution, are proving an attractive and cost-effective option that is being explored by an increasing number of householders as the Google search data bears out.”