Latest News from the Solar Panel Industry
25th Janaury 2012 Government lose appeal over unlawful reduction in Feed in Tariffs
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court ruling that Government cuts to the Feed-in Tariff were unlawful.
The three Lords Justices of Appeal announced their reserved judgement this morning following a hearing 10 days ago.
Today's decision is a damaging blow to Ministers and officials at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, who must now introduce the contingency date of March 3 for the start of the 21p rate for solar PV and not the original December 12 deadline.
Customers who register on or after March 3 will qualify for the current higher rate until April 1, when it will drop to 21p. Follow this lonk for more on this.....
31st December 2011 A Solar Panel System is still a good investment
Although the Feed in Tariff rates have reduced, homeowners can still make a return on their investment. On the proposed new rate of 21p per Kilowatt Hour, Solar PV users are looking at in the region of £600 earnings per year says the Energy Saving Trust. Whilst this means a longer wait to start earning out of solar, it’s still offering a return of around 5 per cent which hands-down beats most current traditional savings schemes. And don't forget the savings on electricity as the Homeowner will immediately benefit from the free electricity the system produces.
20th December 2011 Feed in Tariff cuts ruled legally flawed
Solar firms and the charity Friends of the Earth today won their legal challenge against the government’s plans to cut feed-in tariff payments to solar schemes started after the 12 December 2011.The government now has been given the right to lodge an appeal by 4 January 2012.
11th November 2011 Legal Challenge against the Governments planned FIT reduction
At least two legal challenges to the Government’s decision to cut Feed-in Tariffs have now been launched, one by environmental group Friends of the Earth and another by a coalition of solar firms, including Solar Century.
29th October 2011 Consumers and Industry react with fury to leaked Feed in Tariff cuts
Consumers and installers of solar PV panels have reacted furiously to the details in yesterday's leaked document, which revealed the Government's planned 50% cutback of the Feed-in Tariff rates.According to the document, the UK Government is to reduce the level of cash payments it provides for new domestic solar panels from 43.3p to 21p per kWh.The reduced rate of 21p/kWh will affect all photovoltaic installations below 4kW accredited after December 8, although the previous tariff of 43p/kWh will be paid until March 31, 2012, after which the revised, lower rate will be introduced for the remainder of the 25-year contract.Read more at Clickgreen.org.uk
In addition, all new domestic installations must be accompanied by an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a level C or above from April 1. Alternatively, properties that have completed all Green Deal measures will also qualify.
Solar businesses have now called on energy ministers to look again at Monday's scheduled announcement, in which they are expected to confirm a December 8 cut-off for the current, higher rate of cash payments.
Many would-be consumers have said the six-week window gives them no time to clear planning regulations and order-book waiting lists to install panels to qualify for the current 43.3p/kWh rate.
19th October 2011 The solar panel gold rush reported by thismoney.co.uk
Most investors offered a Government-backed investment delivering inflation-linked and tax-free 10% income, would prick up their ears even in the best of times. But with interest rates at rock bottom and the stock markets in turmoil, the idea sounds even more enticing. What makes it even more interesting is that this doesn't involve any fund managers, financial advisers or banks, and you can keep a close eye on the investment in your own home.
The bumper returns are coming from solar panels and the Government's Feed in Tariff.
It is all part of the Government's desperate push to get anywhere near hitting the UK’s ambitious renewable energy targets and involves paying householders over the odds for electricity generated by solar panels on their roofs.
Some early adopters are currently getting a return equivalent to 10% per year on their investment in the panels, triggering a much better than expected take-up of the scheme. Environmental consultancy AEA says the UK’s solar power potential rose 900% in the 15 months after subsidies were introduced – driven by small-scale domestic installations.
This gold rush has kickstarted a fast growing cottage industry plugging solar panels, with a small army of salesmen and women cold-calling homeowners to plug their magic bullet schemes.
A slice of these are even offering to rent your roof – installing solar panels and allowing householders to keep the energy savings, while the companies take the subsidised energy generation payments themselves.The good news is that some of the hype is justified: canny householders are genuinely reaping the rewards from investing in helping to produce renewable energy.
The bad news is that a review of the Feed in Tariff is highly likely to substantially cut the returns for those who sign up after next April. And with overall returns based on a 25-year period and companies rushing to jump on the Feed in Tariff bandwagon, those considering solar panels need to be wary of fly-by-night firms that may not deliver as promised.
How Feed-in Tariffs can deliver a good investment
The tax-free Feed-in Tariffs scheme means that homeowners who generate electricity from solar power get paid for energy they produce and use themselves, a little bit extra for any electricity they produce, don’t use and put into the grid, and will also see their energy bills fall slightly.
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3rd October 2011:The energy efficiency of a property is something that will become increasingly important to tenants, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has suggested. Although it isn't currently that big a concern for tenants when it comes to choosing a place to rent, the RLA believes worries over higher fuel bills and property that isn't energy efficient will become much more important.
Richard Jones, policy director at the RLA, said: "At the moment, I don't think tenants necessarily distinguish between properties that are energy efficient and those that are not. As time goes on, particularly because of rising costs – which the industry predicts is pretty well inevitable – it is going to become more important." He added that landlords were, for the most part, becoming eco-sensitive.
"There is the cost driver as energy costs go up because our stock of housing, particularly the older stock in this country, is generally pretty inefficient in energy terms," he concluded. Adrian Dunne, owner of Natural Energy Solutions agreed with this commented and added that "Landlords should also remember that the addition of energy efficient measures such as solar panels and cavity wall insulatiin will also add value to the market value of the property and so going green is a win / win !".
30th September 2011:Green homes will quickly increase in value, expert claims...
Energy efficient homes will increase in value much faster than a conventional property claims Gordon Miller, co-founder and sustainability and communications director of Sustain Worldwide. He claimed that as they are more "future-proofed", they will become more valuable to homebuyers as existing properties will require possibly expensive retrofitting.The expert's comments come after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) called for a home's green credentials to be considered when a property is valued. It has published an information paper, claiming that some sustainability features are likely to have an impact on value and therefore this should be reflected. Mr Miller added: "It is long overdue that the valuation industry recognised the inherent value premium in sustainable property. "It stands to reason: sustainable homes are cheaper to run because they are better insulated and require less heating and mechanical cooling, and they are fitted out with hands-off energy saving applications.
22nd September 2011:BBC Watchdog has criticised the use of "middle men companies" who are trying to capitalise on the growing popularity of Solar Panel Systems. "These companies are purely a sales operation who pass on the leads to Solar Panel Installers for a hefty commission" says Adrian Dunne, the owner of Natrural Energy Solutions. "They do not need to be accredited and in my experience they know very little about the technical requirements. It is always best to deal direct with the Installation Company itself".
17th September 2011: Natural Energy Solutions has now added to their range of Solar Panel Systems and can now accommodate most budgets. "It isn't just a case of one size fits all, says Adrian Dunne, the owner of Natural Energy Solutions. We have found that our customers have differing requirements and so we are now able to offer the best advice for their particular situation. We can accommodate those that have smaller roof spaces by utilsing Sanyo Hit Solar Panels and can even install standard Polycristalline Solar Panels which are from our budget range. Our aim is always to ensure our customer gets the best advice tailored to their requirements."
23rd May 2010:The Sunday Times put solar PV panels as one of its top five investments........ for making 10% returns on your savings. In the article it advised customers to consider PV following the introduction of the feed-in tariff in April, offering them a tax-free, index linked income for the energy they produce. The new coalition Government has agreed to honour the feed-in tariff system for electricity.
"Given that the income is tax-free, the return on a £14,000 investment is equivalent to 12.9% for a 50% tax payer and 10.3% for a 40% tax-payer, with the investment recouped in as little as seven years. As the payments are linked to RPI, this equates to a real return of 18.2% and 15.6% respectively at today's RPI rate of 5.3%" reports The Sunday Times.
