Centrica has announced that it has bought the company Solar Technologies Group Limited which will enable British Gas, owned by Centrica, to install ‘solar photovoltaic’ technology in the UK, helping it to realise its goal of becoming the country’s leading provider of low carbon energy.

In a significant step forward for green energy, the £2.8million deal will allow British Gas to build a portfolio which will enable it to develop a “generation of cheap, reliable and low-carbon energy.”

Solar Technologies, the UK’s leading installer of renewable energy solutions, is responsible for many of the country’s PV installations, including the landmark one at London’s City Hall.

By 2020, solar PV could produce 12 per cent of Europe’s electricity demand, according to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association.

The Government aims to have cut the UK’s domestic CO2 emissions to 32 per cent (a reduction of 26 per cent) by 2020; it also has a target of seeing 15 per cent of all energy coming from renewable sources by the same year, and mergers such as this can have a significant impact on these goals.

It is also hoped that recent changes in building planning approval systems and building regulations will encourage the use of renewable energy in new buildings across the UK.

Gearóid Lane, Managing Director of British Gas New Energy, said: “This acquisition is an important step in British Gas putting in place a range of renewable and low carbon energy technologies for our residential, business and public sector customers.

“These technologies will become increasingly important as the UK implements policies to meet its stretching renewable energy and carbon emissions targets. And with British Gas’s energy experts supporting millions of Britain’s homes and business, we are uniquely positioned to deliver.”

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