Solar PV prices falling

mickyduck

as predicted by many the cut in FIT is bringing the cost of systems down. My installer have a 30% off promotion already. This looks like a genuine discount as I have a 3.9 kWp system that did cost about £12500.

http://www.finesse-energy.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1&Itemid=68

larkim

But that's a "limited offer"; potentially an installer with excess stocks on his hands that he needs to shift rather than trash. If he's already paid for the panels, and he sees no economic prospect of selling them at his desired price, he should consider selling them at any price (even below cost price) rather than getting £nil for them.

Of course, it may be that he is just shaving his margins and still making a healthy profit out of it as others suspect. Time will tell. A better time to conclude this will be in 12 months when current stocks will be non-existent and desperation from installers has vanished.

Matt

Gizmosmum_2

Buy before the results of the consultation at your peril. 21p/kwh has not been confirmed as the new fit rate and there are currently fears that it may be lower. The results aren' due out until early February and until then no-one knows how much it will be.

rogerblack

The new FIT rate is confirmed - for installs from Dec 12.
However, the rate post April is possibly going to change for the lower end.

According to the governments figures in the consultation paper, the scheme is intended to return 5% on well-sited installations. This is closer to 10, with the new FIT.

However.
Addressing for the moment the cost.
http://www.affordable-solar.com/store/solar-panels-by-the-pallet
Taking the not-bottom-end panels at $1.40/W, this is $5600 for 4kW of panels.
A reasonable guess for inverters at 4kW, in bulk, would seem to be around $1500.
Converting these to pounds, and adding VAT (no duty as solar), comes to around 5500.

8750-5500 = 3250.

While not a huge amount of money, it's a sizeable sum.
Assuming based on various peoples reports that a team of 5 installers can get an install done in a day, that's
650 each.

While of course this is a simplistic analysis, and there will be brackets, wire, generation meter, forms to fill in, ... - it shows that there is still substantial money to be made for people with efficient businesses.

Will these need to pick their clients carefully - sure - half a days extra work may add a grand or more onto the price to the customer. (unless they're short of clients, when they have room to move down considerably)

Gizmosmum_2

rogerblack wrote: »

The new FIT rate is confirmed - for installs from Dec 12.
)

The new rate has not been confirmed today - we know as much now as we did last week about the rate until April. Greg Barker has today said there is a high level of certaintity that the rate will be 21p - this is not confirmation of any rate and until a formal announcement from the government is made I'd suggest that people looking for new installation tread very carefully.

rogerblack

Gizmosmum wrote: »

The new rate has not been confirmed today - we know as much now as we did last week about the rate until April. Greg Barker has today said there is a high level of certaintity that the rate will be 21p - this is not confirmation of any rate and until a formal announcement from the government is made I'd suggest that people looking for new installation tread very carefully.

The rate paid for installs done already, or done until an announcement.
For the government to back out of promises made for installs already completed and registered seems unlikely.
For them to say (for example) 'it's 12p/kWh from Jan 31' - in a few weeks - on the other hand is entirely plausible.

Gizmosmum_2

The latter - no-one knows what it's going to be between 12th dec and the announcement - absolute madness!

Equaliser123

Gizmosmum wrote: »

The latter - no-one knows what it's going to be between 12th dec and the announcement - absolute madness!

Agreed. However, I think that those who were registered up to 12 Dec will continue to get the 'full' index-linked rate.