Retired university lecturer Derek Allum believes the solar photovoltaic panels he has bought for his home in Tring, Hertfordshire, will offer greater rewards than the interest paid by the building society. His six solar pv panels generate 1100 units of electricity per year, which Derek sells to us, at Green Energy UK. We feed Derek’s excess electricity into the National Grid. As well as paying Derek for each excess unit of electricity we even pay him for the green electricity he uses in his home, so he saves money he would have spent on electricity, is rewarded for producing renewable electricity and even earns money from the excess.

Derek says: “My money was sitting in the building society doing very little under current interest rates. I am in a stable financial position and decided to put some of my savings to good use. I am interested in all aspects of the environment and see this as a fairly nice, steady investment with a green factor.”

Derek spent £9750 on materials and installation, £2500 of which he was able to recoup via a grant from the government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme. The installation only took two days.

Derek says: “Friends keep advising me that the credit crunch won’t last for ever and interest rates will go up and my investment will not be so profitable, but I don’t think I can lose. Interest rates will rise again, but so too will the cost of clean energy. My electricity will increase in value also.”