The latest official figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) could provide insight into how energy saving aspirations across the UK have affected power consumption.

In its second quarter 2010 report, DECC notes a 24 per cent fall in primary electricity consumption across the country.

Although this is offset by an increase in gas consumption of 7.1 per cent year-on-year, it could still be seen by many as an indication of how consumers' energy saving attempts have impacted on the drawing of power from the National Grid.

Meanwhile, the report also reveals for the first time the types and number of installations registered with the feed-in tariffs scheme.

Over 2,700 separate installations have been registered, consisting mostly of solar and wind energy generation.

While solar power accounts by far for the most installations, at 98 per cent of the total by number, it only contributes 44 per cent to the amount of energy generated.

According to DECC, the feed-in tariffs, which cover installations of capacity up to 5 MW each, have seen 34.7 per cent of power arise from wind turbines, which constitute just two per cent of the number of installations.

Hydropower proves even more productive as, with just four installations - 0.1 per cent of the total - 21.5 per cent of power under the feed-in tariffs scheme derives from this method of generation.

biggreensmile.com