The Solar Cycle Team get set to leave Central London. Photo: Andy Bodycombe

London, Friday 15th May 2009: The UK solar industry, ‘We Support Solar’, the UK campaign for solar energy; SolarAid and G24 Innovations, is backing three environmental campaigners on a round-the-world bicycle expedition which aims to highlight the potential of solar power in the fight against climate change.

Along with leg power, Susie Wheeldon, Jamie Vining and Iain Henderson are equipped with thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels - custom built into their panniers by G24 Innovations - to power the very latest in Nokia navigation, communications and sports technology; allowing their supporters to follow them second by second around the globe.

The intrepid team will set off from London’s City Hall on Friday 15th May, also known as European Solar Day. The gruelling nine month, 12,000 mile journey will take them through 14 countries, searing hot deserts and snow-capped mountains to raise money for SolarAid; the UK charity established by one of the world’s leading thinkers on environmental sustainability, Jeremy Leggett.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, shows off his 'I Support Solar' badge. Photo: Andy Bodycombe

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said ‘I would like to wish Susie, Jamie and Ian who are kicking off their intrepid expedition right outside London’s City Hall, the very best of luck. Their trip demonstrates the very latest solar technology, which not only has an important role to play in tackling climate change but also helps to support the development of the green economy.’

The campaigners hope their adventure visiting solar energy projects across the world will help demonstrate the potential for solar energy to provide a reliable, available and affordable solution for global energy needs. Together with the campaign ‘We Support Solar’ they are calling for the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference to recognise solar photovoltaics ability to address the credit, energy and climate crunch with a ‘global feed-in tariff’; see its potential to help ease poverty and create 6.3 million jobs by 2030. They are also asking the UN to consider the potential for condensing solar power (CSP) stations to harness the suns rays, as promoted by the Desertec Foundation.

Expedition sponsor Nokia is supplying the cyclists with Nokia N79 Active devices; which come with a heart rate monitor and pre-loaded Nokia Sports Tracker. This application will enable them to measure their distance, speed and pace when cycling, as well as upload their location via GPS to www.thesolarcyclediaries.com. The device also features Nokia Maps, which will provide the essential navigation to guide them on their journey using A-GPS technology.

Using the video capabilities of the Nokia N79 Active, the three person team will create a ‘Here comes the sun’ video viral in each of the 14 countries visited, to be used for educational content on YouTube. Key eco sites, including CSP plants and Nokia solar powered base stations, will be geo-tagged on the devices and directly uploaded to the SolarCycle Diaries website.

Susie Wheeldon comments; “With the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference at the end of the year we have an amazing opportunity to adopt technology that can tackle climate change and create new sustainable industry. This expedition allows us to highlight already available solar solutions as well as demonstrate how solar energy can be used to power everyday appliances such as our phones. In this regard we are particularly thrilled to be partnering with Nokia. Nokia not only won the Green Awards Grand Prix last year but are leading the way in adopting renewable energy in their product creation and operating systems. What their mobiles and web applications can do is incredible. My mother is especially pleased that the Sports Tracker and geo-tagging mean she can follow what we are doing at all times!”

Susie, Jamie and Iain will also be using their Nokia N79 Active devices to geo-tag, blog, Tweet, and Facebook throughout their expedition. You can learn more about solar energy and follow their journey in real time at: www.thesolarcyclediaries.com

London, Wednesday 6th May 2009: Mercury prize winning band the Klaxons, has called for more support for solar power in the UK. The band, now recording its second album, has joined the ‘We Support Solar’ campaign to pressurise the Government to reward those who make use of the sun and make headway in the fight against climate change. Much of the Klaxons’ second album is being recorded in a solar powered studio at The Premises Studios in East London; the country’s only recording studio generating clean energy from daylight. Impressively, the campaign claims that solar photovoltaics (PV) has the potential to create over 100,000 much needed ‘green’ British jobs by 2020.

The Klaxons join Lily Allen, 200 MPs, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and hundreds of individuals and companies across the country who are also backing the campaign. ‘We Support Solar’ is fast raising awareness of the importance of a strong ‘Feed-in Tariff’ (FIT) for solar, the commitment to a high sale price for solar electricity, three to four times the price of conventional electricity, that has proven to increase demand for solar in as many as 17 countries in Europe including France, Spain and Italy.

The Klaxons said: “We’re proud to back the We Support Solar campaign. We use The Premises solar powered recording studio and we know how important solar power is to the delivery of a low carbon UK.”

Julia Craik, Manager, Premises Studios said: “However much they might wish to be green, for many businesses it is simply not financially viable to install renewable energy. If the UK followed the example of Germany and introduced a premium feed-in tariff the initial costs of installing renewable technologies such as our solar panels will be recouped in a much shorter time, and after that turn a profit. This would be a huge incentive!”

The UK Government has said that a tariff will be introduced to the UK in 2010 but it is still to be decided how strong and effective it will be. The Klaxons and other supporters believe an effective tariff would pay solar owners for all the electricity they generate, encourage investment and encourage solar on buildings thus creating much needed jobs. In Germany over 50,000 jobs have been created in solar since 2000.

Solar PV technology has proven to be a very popular way to generate clean electricity in the UK as it relies on daylight not heat, requires little maintenance and will generate power for over forty years. Many homes are now being built across the country with solar electric roof tiles; a new way of replacing traditional roof tiles with solar power that can be installed by local roofers and are virtually unnoticeable on buildings. If you too want to see a good FIT and solar power across the UK please visit the Facebook site or sign up here.