MSE News: Solar subsidies to be slashed under government plans

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"Solar panel gains will plummet for people who install after 11 December, under government plans announced today ..."

Read the full story:

Solar subsidies to be slashed under government plans

Also see last week's story:

Leak points to solar subsidy cuts

Cardew

Copy of leaked paper in these threads:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3575801

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3575765

bignanny

Last night we had a quote for PV panels and the rep was very concerned when he heard about the leaked news on reduced feed-in tariff ( I don't know if that was the correct term used). He said that he expects the take up of the Solar voltaicic panels would be seriously reduced and that home generation of electricity would not continue to rise

magyar

bignanny wrote: »

Last night we had a quote for PV panels and the rep was very concerned when he heard about the leaked news on reduced feed-in tariff ( I don't know if that was the correct term used). He said that he expects the take up of the Solar voltaicic panels would be seriously reduced and that home generation of electricity would not continue to rise

He's right, it would - and that's a good thing.

It is utterly, utterly wrong that at a time when there are millions of people in fuel poverty that those people should be subsidising rich people to get a 10% return on their investment.

HalloweenJack

as i said in the other thread - is there any idication of the fit for 50kw systems? will that be reduced?

wymondham

It would be a shame to halt the march to solar generation just as it started. I've never seen so many panels on roofs than the last 6 months or so. Whatever the reason for it, and whatever the home owner is getting from it, it is a good thing which should be encouraged.......

HalloweenJack

yes but the entire reason for cutting the FIT is because of the venture capalists cashing in on the `free money` the scheme is offering - it was never intended for a handful of people to earn massive from it , but as an incentive for home owners to go green(er) and save money and earn a little from the investment.


so the only people who can complain are those who hoped to cash in on the scheme - theres a petition calling for the FIT to be kept for home owners as it is , but lowered for rent a roof companies; that way its a win win.

magyar

HalloweenJack wrote: »

yes but the entire reason for cutting the FIT is because of the venture capalists cashing in on the `free money` the scheme is offering - it was never intended for a handful of people to earn massive from it , but as an incentive for home owners to go green(er) and save money and earn a little from the investment.


so the only people who can complain are those who hoped to cash in on the scheme - theres a petition calling for the FIT to be kept for home owners as it is , but lowered for rent a roof companies; that way its a win win.

Nice idea but very unlikely to be workable under EU law which makes it alost impossible to 'target' subsidies.

chris1973

The writing was on the wall for any model which paid somebody over 40p to 'produce' energy which it then sold on to other consumers for an 'average' of 11p - 20p, where did people think the shortfall was going to come from?, of course it was always going to increase bills!.

I'm all for using alternative ways to produce energy, but they should be limited only to the benefits which they reap in savings for the household fitting them, and not at the expense of those who can barely afford to keep warm this winter, whilst at the same time creating profits for the companies fitting the free ones.

If Europe wants UK Households to save money by fitting them, then perhaps it should be ploughing huge amounts back into the UK, so the 'average' household can afford them, if not perhaps its time to tell them where they can shove their PV panels - ideally sidewards.

Besides, production of Solar panels may not be as 'Green' as some would have you believe, at least not according to this report, at component manufacturing level in China, but as they say, "with each 'saving' comes a 'cost'"

Although solar is seen as clean energy in terms of carbon emissions, the production of many components is energy intensive and polluting

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/18/chinese-solar-panel-factory-protest

I wonder how many of these panels are even produced in factories in the UK?, thus making roll out more worthwhile?, probably very few, if any?, so not even a boost to UK manufacturing then?, how much investment has been put into the UK to produce this technology beyond salespeople seeing £ signs in commission in return for fitting imported panels, boosting the economy in other countries?

In fact its hard to see what benefit there is to the UK and the average householder, beyond appleasing Europe and the Tree Hugging fraternity, certainly the example figures of £70 - £100 per year average in savings paid to households by the 'free' panel suppliers in return for 'free' rent of their roof for the next 25 years, will soon be swallowed up by the increases in their own energy bills in the coming years, as households with 'Free' panels still need a connection to Gas / Electricity and to heat their homes in winter using the same more traditional methods as everybody else when the output from any panels is at its lowest. Its ironic then, that the bills of these 'free' panel fitted households will also be increasing just as directly as a result of more people doing the same as them and taking advantage of the feed in tariff rates - if something isn't done to curb it!.

Yes, I think Wind and Solar panels are great for saving individual households money on their bills, if they can afford to fit them, but ironically its the households wealthy enough to not have to worry about paying their bills, who are in a position to afford the means to reduce them!.

At the end of the Day, the Australian Government was quick to see the link between high levels of feed in tariff payments and the increasing cost of energy bills to mainstream consumers, and acted in 2010 to reduce it from MY2011, with further reductions in 2012 and 2013, but like everything else, the UK is slow to catch on the the obvious

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/minister/greg-combet/2011/media-releases/May/mr20110505.aspx

Whatever the reason for it, and whatever the home owner is getting from it, it is a good thing which should be encouraged.......

Really? at the expense of increased Fuel Poverty and the risk of pensioners and low earners choosing between heating and eating?. Perhaps in a Dickens' novel.

mo786uk

The weird thing is - lost of companies have popped up to offer free solar panels - if it is now not worth it - does that not mean loads of people out of a job?

Cardew

magyar wrote: »

Nice idea but very unlikely to be workable under EU law which makes it alost impossible to 'target' subsidies.

I hadn't appreciated that point.

However if a company installs say 2000 x 4kWp systems then it should be treated as 8,000kWp(8MWp) for income; in the same way as if they had installed an 8MWp solar farm.

I cannot have 2 x 4 kWh PV systems on the roof of my house and claim twice the < 4kWp FIT rate - I get the lower 8kWp rate. Yet these firms can install thousands of systems and get the highest rate.