IF every south-facing building in the UK fitted solar panels, the country would have all the electricity it needs, an expert has claimed.

Tim Bruton, chief technology officer of the New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec), in Northumberland, was speaking ahead of a national conference in County Durham that will highlight the business opportunities photovoltaics – solar power – could bring.

Solar Flair 2009 has been organised by the County Durham Develpment Company, the business support arm of Durham County Council, in its role as the North-East partner of the Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network, which funds the event.

The North-East is putting foundations in place to become a European centre for renewable energy expertise, bringing with it scores of jobs and new industries, with photovoltaics (PV), alongside wind power, electric vehicles and green energy, playing a major part.

Mr Bruton, a fellow of the Institute of Physics who has published over 70 papers in the PV field, believes the North-East is on the verge of “something very exciting”.

He said: “The University of Northumbria carried out a study for the Department of Trade and Industry looking at the existing south-facing buildings in the UK.

“All we have to do is take the things we have already built and put solar panels on them and we can generate all the electricity we need.”

Rather than being the technology of the far future, Mr Bruton believes it is only two to three years away from being widely used in the UK.

He said: “If you look at what has happened in Germany, Spain and California where you have the right subsidy structure from the government, the market has taken off.”

Mr Bruton pointed out that a similar subsidy scheme was due to be introduced by the Government in this country in April.

It is then that the new Renewables Feed In Tariff (FIT) system comes into force, offering both domestic and business customers using technology such as photovoltaics for electricity, payback rates of up to 40p per kWh.

Mr Bruton believed the North-East was ideally placed to take advantage of this.

He said: “Obviously we believe solar energy as a sector is going to take off in a big way in the future in the UK.

“It is certainly very important for the region. It is an emerging industry and the region obviously needs to benefit from new opportunities.

“The region is well placed in manufacturing. We have Romag at Consett which is leading the UK in the building integration side. They are supported by Narec.

“We also have some very good universities and we need to pull through the research and development from them.”

Solar Flair 2009 is being held at Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield, County Durham, on November 19.

For more details contact Elaine on 0191-370-9559 or elaine@solarflair 09.com