Demonstrating a commitment to growth and quality, Beechdale Energy Ltd has recruited a graphic designer to its full-time staff. Though launched only last year, Beechdale has already become one of the regional market leaders in the mushrooming renewable energy field. The designer, Chris Dallywater, joins Beechdale at the start of August with a brief to take the company's marketing and design to the high level expected of a market leader.

British Gas, Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern started the ball rolling with large price increases a couple of weeks ago. Scottish & Southern announced increases of 11% for electricity and 18% for gas - and those are not annual increases, just the most recent. Now E.on and Npower are set to join in the fun with similar levels of increase. Where will it end? Will they ever run out of energy for promoting price increases?

In a classic 'foot in mouth' event, the Energy Saving Trust has just told consumers that investing in solar PV panels is not such good news after all. Jumped on by the Dail Mail with their headline: 'Solar panel myth: Experts slash estimates for how much solar panels will save you' achieved just about the opposite of their purpose in life which is to promote the efficient use of energy and particularly the use of renewable technologies.

The July 2011 issue of 'Which' magazine - the consumer watchdog publication - included an article rather dramatically headed 'Solar Electricity Investigation' about the mushrooming market for solar PV panels and particularly for 'rent-a-roof' schemes. The use of such an evocative word as 'investigation' suggested a tabloid approach to what might have been more usefully described as 'research', but unfortunately the article went on to prove that the tabloidesque headline was justified by the scare-mongering report.