Rising energy prices could be a 'blessing in disguise' says Exeter renewables company boss

While the National Audit Office has warned that consumers face 17 years of continual above-inflation energy price rises, the head of one of Exeter’s leading renewable energy companies says it could be a ‘blessing in disguise’.

Gabriel Wondrausch, who runs award-winning green energy firm SunGift Energy, is unsurprised at the news, but believes that only drastic financial repercussions will force the majority to change their ways and look for alternative methods of heating and powering their homes.

Mr Wondrausch said: “There has been a strong financial and environmental argument for people to switch to renewables technologies over recent years but energy prices have still remained low enough for people to comfortably continue using traditional forms of energy.

"While this is the ‘easy option’, we’ve continued to see not only Exeter but also the rest of the UK and the world producing too much carbon dioxide and contributing to man-made global warming.”

This view was also re-iterated this week by the World Meteorogical Association, which announced 2013 as one of the warmest on record, blaming it directly on man-made climate change.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” added Gabriel, “and Exeter householders will now be forced to look at how they can drastically reduce their energy bills. The best example of how they can do this is to have solar PV panels installed on their roof. While energy bills have gone up drastically in the past there years, the average price of a solar PV system has dropped from around £20,000 to just £6,500. One of these systems will typically produce 50% of the electricity needed by an Exeter household, reduce their bills, and provide much-needed additional cash from the government’s Feed-in Tariff.

“It’s not just solar PV though. Exeter householders can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels by introducing solar thermal to heat their hot water, and either biomass boilers or heat pumps to heat their homes. Not only do these measures mean that they’ll won’t have to rely on energy companies to supply them with expensive fuel, but also they’ll be reducing their carbon footprints hugely and lowering their impact on climate change.”

A typical solar PV system reduces an Exeter household’s carbon emissions by an average of two tonnes a year and, with current Feed-in Tariff payments, is paid off within five to eight years. He added: “Nobody wants to see householders in Exeter unable to heat and power their homes, but I’m hopeful that this seemingly negative news can prompt homeowners into becoming more energy independent.”