In 2008 the UK government introduced the Climate Change Act. This commits the UK to reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Also, the EU Renewable Energy Directive commits the UK to increase its proportion of power produced from renewable sources to 15% by 2020.
To help ensure that we meet these targets, the Government has introduced financial incentives to encourage the installation of local renewable energy sources.
The sun is an ideal energy source; less than one hour's sunshine is enough to supply the world's energy for a year. If solar panels were fitted to every available roof in the UK, they could generate more than enough power to satisfy our energy needs.