Solar PV - thoughts and experience anyone?

That's a fair point.  Still, personally speaking, I'm a paragon of virtue .  I've used a linen bag given out by my local butcher for the last twelve years, so have never relied on supermarket plastic bags anyway.  And I use the bags from the odd occasion I use my local corner shop for "small" bin bags, so my use of regular bin bags has remained flat.

EDIT: Oh, and I compost kitchen vegetable waste and have a water but collecting rain run off.

The classic ways are taxation, regulation (with effective punishments for transgressors) and education.  Cheaper substitutes would be the most effective, if they existed.  Subsidising something has an educational role but also creates other problems, such as equity.

However, it's all p*****g in the wind now.  The world is not ready/not able to limit global emissions, so unless there is a technological fix in the next 25-50 years the climate will probably change in ways we can only guess at.  But it will be relished by some.  Imagine if the vast plains of northern Russia suddenly become cultivable.

I got caught out by some of the back stock which turned out to be biodegradable ... i.e. the carrier bags destined for waste bin use turned to plastic confetti while waiting their turn (everything degraded EXCEPT the ink printed on them so it was very messy confetti).

<nods an experienced nod>

I had a 4kw array installed in July 2011 by Your Power Ltd., and it seemed to be a very professional operation. Despite living in  rural Gloucestershire and feeding the birds I have had no problems with any birds and I had never heard of netting until I read about it here. 
We wash the panels once a year but that is the extent of the maintenance required so far. 
The panels have produced an average of 3700 kWh pa which produces FITs income of about £1900 pa. I have not documented the saving in electricity consumption but the monthly direct debit was halved, after an £800 surplus arose following the installation of the panels. I too use a 100 renewable tariff and have invested some FITs cash in other renewable energy community  projects on Ethex, and the EIS and SEIS certificates are beginning to come through on those, however, EIS and SEIS have now been withdrawn from these type of projects. 
Your Power used some panels from a manufacturer  Suncycle, some batches of whose panels were later found to be faulty, and Your Power kept me informed about the situation, and in due course confirmed that my panels were not in the affected batches, which was good after sales service. 
So it has all been a positive experience so far, the only negative aspect being the service from SSE, with whom I contracted to administer the FITs, and which I have found to be slow and uncommunicative, although they do deal with the payments eventually. 

3.9kw system with a SMA inverter fitted in 2012. Live on the North Cornwall Coast. FIT managed via Utility Warehouse very efficient and pay monthly based on my monthly reading provided online.

2013 4578 kw £1874 FIT £366 saving
2014 4787        1912        327
2015 4595        1878        469 


We also have a solar hot water system that provides a 300 litre tank at 65C from May to September  -If I had to choose with the new FIT rates I'd do this 1st.