MSE News: Solar subsidies to be slashed under government plans

Gizmosmum_2

sly_dog_jonah wrote: »

I've not heard of an installer doing the FiT application on your behalf, unless they are renting you roof for 25years and keeping the FiT income for themselves.

Don't confuse this with the installer notifying the local elec distributor (probably western power if your are somerset?) of the installation.

Check with your installer whether they are doing the FiT forms on your behalf. I doubt it, unless you have given them your bank details, Elec A/C numbers and signed the FiT Application forms.

FiT payments are made quarterly and the latest you would expect the first payment is 90 days after your forms are received by the company you applied for the FiT payments from. Applications frequently get lost in the post so get proactive about chasing the status of the application, and use recorded delivery so you have proof of the date of delivery. Alternatively, ask your FiT supplier if they accept scanned documents/applications. EDF do via [EMAIL="feedintariffs@edfenergy.com"]feedintariffs@edfenergy.com[/EMAIL] however you need to get the forms from them to be able to do this. They can email them out to you.

Most decent installers will prepare the fit paperwork for you - it's part of the service. EDF are painfully slow at making payments - I've been waiting since 24th september for mine!

John_Pierpoint

plumber2009 wrote: »

just found this, http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=21186&title=Welsh+borough+aims+to+cut+emissions+by+50%25+with+PV+installation+
So solar is being taken seriously and benefiting the local business economy.

Wrexham council tax payers well and truly shafted by sudden change in tax system, would be a more accurate description of the above link.

As the government now spend nearly half of our GDP, it is a bit difficult to maintain a pure free economy stance, if one lives in the UK.
In some fields we are probably more "nationalised" than were some activities in Soviet Russia.
If the government decides that electricity is 43p a KWh and petrol is 1.37p a litre, then that is what it is, unless you move to a tax haven.

John_Pierpoint

Cardew wrote: »

They are not ‘cost cutting’ in the sense that they are cutting Government expenditure. It makes no financial difference to the Goverment.

Not quite true.

The OECD was not fooled and classes the increase in the electricity bills as a "compulsory unmitigated payment" [=tax] imposed by the government, so this cut will appear in the statistics as a cut in government spending/deficit.

Nobody actually expect an equivalent cut in the taxes on the electricity bill do they ?

Back in the spring, I actually managed to ask the minister two questions.
One was "Is this a tax?" and he explained that it was.

The second question was about the hare we had running back then. about how far upstream the electricity generated on a domestic roof could get?
How electricity works was obviously not part of his skill set, so he referred one of his officials, who was floundering but was helped out by someone else in the audience. Unfortunately I had managed to trigger off a general discussion about the UK's need to build "a second grid", to handle all the new scattered sources of "sustainable" power.
I too was then a bit out of my depth.

However his message was clear - Install NOW, this gold rush won't last.;)

Perhaps even then he knew something we didn't.

orangefleece30

Funny you should say that last sentance because the surveyer who has been to mine yesterday said that if our application was not completed by the cut off point then they would NOT be installing our free panels as there would be no point.

grumpyoldsteve

orrery wrote: »

In order to do this I've got 2 additional timers on order and a second Owl monitor with an alarm to let me know when free power is available.

Thanks for this top tip, I am going to get a second OWL myself :T It is a pain having to climb into the attic to read the display on the inverter with not having the luxury of remote monitoring kit fitted to it.
Presumably you have connected the current measuring thingy to the AC output cable from your inverter?

orrery

grumpyoldsteve wrote: »

Thanks for this top tip, I am going to get a second OWL myself :T It is a pain having to climb into the attic to read the display on the inverter with not having the luxury of remote monitoring kit fitted to the it.
Presumably you have connected the current measuring thingy to the AC output cable from your inverter?

That's the theory. I'll tell you next week when it all turns up!!!

Equaliser123

orrery wrote: »

That's the theory. I'll tell you next week when it all turns up!!!

Didn't work for me as the positive and negative cables are bonded into one.

I understand that Owl type monitors need to be able to read just one of the cables.

Orchardcat

This sudden u-turn leaves me wondering just how far we can trust anything the politicians say. What is to stop this, or any future government lowering or even withdrawing these 'guaranteed' feed-in tariffs within the next 25 years?

If a week is a long time in politics, 25 years is light years away and anything could happen!

I have some sympathy with the argument about the fuel-poor subsidising the so-called rich, but the ONLY way to get cheaper energy in the long run is going to be to use renewable resources, so some kind of scheme which encourages this is vital. Problem is that governments just don't think long term if they can help it.

zeupater

grumpyoldsteve wrote: »

Thanks for this top tip, I am going to get a second OWL myself :T It is a pain having to climb into the attic to read the display on the inverter with not having the luxury of remote monitoring kit fitted to it.
Presumably you have connected the current measuring thingy to the AC output cable from your inverter?

Hi

Probably better to have a look at your cables (tails ?) & try your existing meter sensor/transmitter in the new position(s) first, then you'll know that it works before spending the money ....

HTH
Z

HalloweenJack

Orchardcat wrote: »

This sudden u-turn leaves me wondering just how far we can trust anything the politicians say. What is to stop this, or any future government lowering or even withdrawing these 'guaranteed' feed-in tariffs within the next 25 years?

If a week is a long time in politics, 25 years is light years away and anything could happen!

I have some sympathy with the argument about the fuel-poor subsidising the so-called rich, but the ONLY way to get cheaper energy in the long run is going to be to use renewable resources, so some kind of scheme which encourages this is vital. Problem is that governments just don't think long term if they can help it.

NO

this was a scheme to venture capalists to get rich and print money - we buy electric at on average at 15p per unit - solar panels sell electric at 43p per unit - thats a HUGE difference, in fact a home would need to use 3.5 houses buying electricity just to pay for each house producing electric by solar!

thats what needed to be stopped.

as for renewables - ask me this - at 9pm at night on a becalmed evening , how do solar or wind turbines boost power for an energy surge after say x-factor finishes and 7 million people want a cup of tea? that JUST using renewables...

i await your reply.