MSE News: Solar subsidies to be slashed under government plans

chris1973

Looks pretty much the shape of things to come all over the world

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/australia--rising-electricity-prices-but-falling-solar-enquiries_100004826/

perhaps solar pv isn't turning out to be the little ray of sunshine that some promised it would be...........

If solar installations can be provided for low-income households or for state-funded households, a reliance on ongoing subsidies would be avoided and fossil-fuel electricity subsidies further scaled back

Well the Ozzies have it figured out, give it around 25 years or so and our G'ment will probably have just about reached the same conclusion.

HalloweenJack

right now the venture capalists are seeing this as a licence to print money - unlike germany , spain , australia etc who have seen the HUGE FOLLY of massive subsidies and everyone is scaling it back.

solar , as 1 of the renewables is a great idea - it just shouldnt be the most overpaid of the renewables.

and we also should build new nuclear reactors

John_Pierpoint

chris1973 wrote: »

Looks pretty much the shape of things to come all over the world

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/australia--rising-electricity-prices-but-falling-solar-enquiries_100004826/

perhaps solar pv isn't turning out to be the little ray of sunshine that some promised it would be...........

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Well the Ozzies have it figured out, give it around 25 years or so and our G'ment will probably have just about reached the same conclusion.

I see your point, it would work a bit like food stamps; unlike folding money, a PV panel cannot be shot into your other arm or p1ssed against the wall. One of those aluminium fill-it-first-thing-in-the-morning use-it-to-shower-the-family-in-the-evening solar thermal water heaters (as used in S.Africa) night help save gas and money for those where every penny should count. It is pretty demeaning having your gas and electric on a key anyway.

I stayed with a peasant family in the "third world" [B&B & EM £14] they were able to run a TV off a PV Panel and a battery. They were back on a charcoal oven, having given up on bottled gas, as oil hit $100 a barrel.

sly_dog_jonah

Gizmosmum wrote: »

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!

I preferred to do it myself, since it only took about 10-15mins and meant the forms could get off sooner :-)

I wait with baited breath to see how long EDF take to get our system registered.

John_Pierpoint

Brummie71 wrote: »

The government has been quite clear - there will be no reduction in payments to existing systems. While you can't predict what a future government would do, remember that the FIT isn't paid for by government - it is paid through energy bills by consumers.

Not quite a tax is a tax even if it does not go from a to b via the government's books.
A posting a bit further back:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/48144253#Comment_48144253

grumpyoldsteve

Lots of comments on here about delays getting systems registered for FIT.

Thought you would like to know British Gas took 2 working days from commissioning to register my system and confirm that it was fully registered. In fact they insist that the system is registered within 5 working days at the latest to be able to count the generation meter from zero, or else you have to submit the reading at the date of application.

:beer:

I will find out in December how quick they are at paying the FIT once the first 3 months is up!

grumpyoldsteve

zeupater wrote: »

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

Not tried it yet but I suspect it won't work as the cable from the inverter to the consumer unit via an RCD is 3 core live, neutral and earth, and the transmitter is currently clipped to the positive tail from the meter, so only one wire.
Top money saving tip
What I really need is for British Gas to fit me a smart meter.

LV_Sue

We had decided to have solar panels installed at the same time as our next door neighbour as it was cheaper to get them all done at the same time. We have to wait until mid November for an insurance policy to mature to pay for the installation which now brings us perilously close to the December 12 date. We were informed last Friday that we each need to pay our local council £75 for an inspection to see if we are allowed to install the panels and this could take up to 8 weeks before the inspection is done!!!! Then we may need Building Regulations and/or Planning Permission - probably taking another 8 weeks and costing us in excess of £200 each! All of which now takes us past the December date when both we and the installers thought we had until March or April 2012 for the installation to be completed.

Probably not going to bother now, but at least we haven't yet paid our money grabbing Council their exorbitant fees!

My brother-in-law, who lives in a different part of the country from us (but also in a village location), has been told he doesn't even need to tell his local council he's having his solar panels installed let alone pay them for the privilege!

BornAtTheRightTime

Unless you live in listed building or conservation area, and assuming the panels do not raise up more than 200mm from the roof you do not need planning permission. This falls under permitted development. Councils have been slapped down for this before.

This is a useful document too:
http://www.structuralreportsonline.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/Best-Practice-note-on-application-of-Building-Regulations-Retrofitting-Solar-Panels11.pdf

You ought to apply for a Building Control Notice in any case for the roofing side to prove that the structure is safe, however many councils, mine included, are not interested. The electrical side of the building regs requirement should be covered under the installer's competent person (Part P) scheme (check that your installers have this accreditation).

zeupater

LV_Sue wrote: »

We had decided to have solar panels installed at the same time as our next door neighbour as it was cheaper to get them all done at the same time. We have to wait until mid November for an insurance policy to mature to pay for the installation which now brings us perilously close to the December 12 date. We were informed last Friday that we each need to pay our local council £75 for an inspection to see if we are allowed to install the panels and this could take up to 8 weeks before the inspection is done!!!! Then we may need Building Regulations and/or Planning Permission - probably taking another 8 weeks and costing us in excess of £200 each! All of which now takes us past the December date when both we and the installers thought we had until March or April 2012 for the installation to be completed.

Probably not going to bother now, but at least we haven't yet paid our money grabbing Council their exorbitant fees!

My brother-in-law, who lives in a different part of the country from us (but also in a village location), has been told he doesn't even need to tell his local council he's having his solar panels installed let alone pay them for the privilege!

Hi

Are the properties in a conservation area/national park, listed buildings or have very old roofs ? ..... if not, ring the council and ask to speak urgently to the planning director and mention 'permitted development' as applicable to pv systems, mention the December deadline and ask for an immediate decision on what they require from you, if anything ..... your installer will/should have the structual calculations done for you and will/should sign off the work against building regs, so talk to your installer, quickly ... my guess is that all installers will be working weekends and overtime for the next month as a result of their order books filling up over the next few days. At a point soon, they'll all stop accepting orders, or not provide any form of guarantee that the installation will be completed in time, so every hour counts ... the alternative, relax, sit back, and wait for the prices to fall ....


HTH
Z