On Thursday the Government finally made a move to end the current uncertainty over the feed-in tariff for Solar PV and announced it would bring forward legislation to ensure the rate reductions they had previously announced would come into effect on the 3rd March, irrespective of the outcome of the on-going court case.

This has removed a lot of uncertainty as there are now only two realistic scenarios to consider;

• If the Government looses the court case the previous rates (43p for < 4kW systems) will apply for installations completed prior to 3rd March.
• If the Government wins the court case the new rates (21p for < 4kW systems) will apply to all installations from the 12th December 2011 onwards.

The outcome of the court case is not expected for a few weeks and it is very clear that the Government is going to fight it all the way, so there is no certainty there will be a final result before 3rd March, when at least as far as new installations go, it becomes irrelevant anyway.

DECCs assumptions on the cost of a domestic solar PV system are very out of date at 9,648 for a 2.6kWp installation, making their assumed rate of return of 4.5% much lower than a typical consumer could expect to achieve, with 8% - 10% being more realistic and the new rate of 21p will of course be index linked as of the 1st April 2012 and so is expected to become 22p based on the current rate of inflation. This rate of return is still very attractive for domestic homeowners and installations have averaged 850 per week in the first 2 weeks of 2012, a figure which seems set to rise considerably week on week.

DECC has published a very good summary of the current situation on its website.

The uncertain future of the UK's solar incentive scheme continues, after three Court Appeal’s judges failed to reach a decision as to whether the government's proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme was unlawful.

STATEMENT BY DECC SPOKESPERSON ON FITS CASE
"The Court of Appeal has not yet decided whether to give permission for an appeal or made a judgement on the FITs case. The Court will wrap up the decision on permission for an appeal and a possible judgement if an appeal is allowed in the next few weeks. Once the outcome is known we will consider our options and make an announcement on the way forward to provide clarity to consumers and industry."
  Statement by DECC spokesperson on FITs case

The REAL Assurance Scheme have put a short statement from DECC on their website confirming that “the tariff rate for PV installations less than or equal to 4kW will not fall below 21p for installations with an eligibility date between 12th December 2011 and 31st March 2012”.

 

At 21p per kWh the PV market in the UK is still continuing. Quality installation businesses with a good sales and service process are still thriving.  At Solar Systems the management is of the opinion that there is a very high possibility that the Feed In Tariff rate will be cut again after the 31^st March.

We have systems to suit all size properties, both string and micro-inverter types, all at very competitive prices.  We design our systems (where possible) to ensure they produce a financial return in excess of 10%.  Please call Jeremy, our office manager, who will be only too pleased to advise on this fantastic investment.

As you can imagine, we have been extremely busy coping with the effects of the Government's decision to reduce the Feed In Tariff, combined with its earlier than anticipated deadline of 12th December.  All our employees are working hard, especially our installation crews.  Every hour of daylight, including weekends, sees another system being installed.  Our Sales Team continue to be busy and are carrying out surveys for customers who realise that solar energy remains a very good investment. We have today (Tuesday 15th November) taken two new orders for systems on the FiT 21p rate.  Jeremy, our Sales Manager, is delighted!

Our news page is now up and running we will keep you informed of developments within the industry.   You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

One of our existing customers, Chris. Noonan has recently entered Silverline’s 6th Annual Power Tool Drag Racing Championship.

Held on Sunday, 25th September, at the Fleet Air Arm Museum RNAS Yeovilton, Chris. engineered a car powered by hand-held power tools, which were fuelled by on board batteries charged by using solar panels.

Although a few teething problems were encounted on this occasion, Chris. has every intention of perfecting the design in order to produce winning results when he enters the next competition.  Solar Systems were delighted to support Chris and be associated with this event.

As you can see by the ‘photos, Chris. found an exciting and fun way to use solar power and renewable energy, and we will  continue to cheer Chris. all the way to the finishing line.