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Solar PV Feed In Tariffs - Good or Bad?
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I'm not sure I understand the governments position on the 21p rate for post-deadline installs, it's considerably above their own '5% return in well-situated areas' guideline outlined in the consultation.
Of course, this also applies to larger schemes.
I wonder if any of those will get through under the wire.0 -
Hi
If I was acting for or advising the government I'd certainly recommend to take it to the wire, doing this just to keep the uncertainty levels high for those wanting to take advantage.
The main beneficiaries of the legal challenge process would be the likes of Homesun, it seems, from recent posts elsewhere on this forum, that they've anticipated a window of opportunity to further exploit the existing FiT loophole regarding distributed assets before it closes to them and seem to have already communicated this to their potential 'customer' base. Whatever the cost of the legal process for extending the appeals, amortising it over 25years would almost certainly be lower than the FiT payments which would be avoided ....
HTH
Z"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. " ...... Aristotle0 -
I think the Government are (finally) playing a clever game and keeping uncertainty about the 43/21 rate. If they can play this out till after the 3/3/12 then the impact of higher tariff from 12/12/11 will be quite low due to the small numbers installing now.
Possibly everyone that was ready to jump pre April, has already jumped?
Mart.Mart. Cardiff. 8.72 kWp PV systems (2.12 SSW 4.6 ESE & 2.0 WNW). 20kWh battery storage. Two A2A units for cleaner heating. Two BEV's for cleaner driving.
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.0 -
Chris Huhne(who I don't much like) was in excellent form in the House last Thursday answering questions about FIT.
Read Hansard for some interesting figures:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120126/debtext/120126-0001.htm0 -
From financial point of view - BAD. Everyone is quoting these great rates of return, but seem to forget that your initial investment money is effectively lost. I've found this on another forum, I hope they dont mind me copy and pasting it:
Yes - probably 7 to 11 years before we get our capital back. Then there is the loss of interest to take into account (and the possibility of multiple replacement inverters). I can see the return wont actually start to come in until around the 15th year in reality. Years 15 to 25 is hopefully where the payback will happen (assuming the Government doesn't move the goal posts before then).
I know it's not that simplistic because there are other factors to consider eg the saving from buying your power etc from the grid.
Who would want to invest in something where there is no return for 15 years ?
The point is PV, as an investment, is not as attractive as people banding the high ROR figures about would have you believe.
Don't get me wrong - I am a PV enthusiast.
Will I be in this house in ten years time (let alone 15) and for that matter, will I still be alive ? Who knows ?
I am also in favour of PV, even more so having read the great output figures some people get even in the winter. But if you are just doing it for the money then I think you may have been had.
What do you think interest rates will be in 5 years time? Will you live long enough to even recover your costs?
I've lived through high interest rates and at my age there is a very good chance I might not live long enough to even get my money back.0 -
a very interesting read there cardrew -shame [LAB] dont seem to get the message that equipment prices have fallen in the last year - they only bang on about job losses , what , a dozen times?
the current spend in £7.9 BILLION , how many installs are there currently?
as of now there are 22539000 houses in the UK - which means that as of today , the electric bills have risen by £350 each to pay for the current installations, and not £6 as some people claim.0 -
From financial point of view - BAD. Everyone is quoting these great rates of return, but seem to forget that your initial investment money is effectively lost. I've found this on another forum, I hope they dont mind me copy and pasting it:
Yes - probably 7 to 11 years before we get our capital back. Then there is the loss of interest to take into account (and the possibility of multiple replacement inverters). I can see the return wont actually start to come in until around the 15th year in reality. Years 15 to 25 is hopefully where the payback will happen (assuming the Government doesn't move the goal posts before then).
I know it's not that simplistic because there are other factors to consider eg the saving from buying your power etc from the grid.
Who would want to invest in something where there is no return for 15 years ?
The point is PV, as an investment, is not as attractive as people banding the high ROR figures about would have you believe.
Don't get me wrong - I am a PV enthusiast.
Will I be in this house in ten years time (let alone 15) and for that matter, will I still be alive ? Who knows ?
I am also in favour of PV, even more so having read the great output figures some people get even in the winter. But if you are just doing it for the money then I think you may have been had.
What do you think interest rates will be in 5 years time? Will you live long enough to even recover your costs?
I've lived through high interest rates and at my age there is a very good chance I might not live long enough to even get my money back.
hi Sally
here are my projections, albiet at the previous 43.3p tariff
bear in mind, that it is only just under 2 months actual figures, the rest is projected, but still...
i project a 100% return on my capital in less than 6 years.
of course, time will tell
your right, you should take personal circumstances into account before committing, but IMO i still think it's something worth considering seriously even now.
obviously, do your own research.0 -
HalloweenJack wrote: »the current spend in £7.9 BILLION , how many installs are there currently?
as of now there are 22539000 houses in the UK - which means that as of today , the electric bills have risen by £350 each to pay for the current installations, and not £6 as some people claim.
Hi , any chance you could post a reference to the 'current spend in £7.9 BILLION' figure
thanks0 -
its part of the government qusetion time , link as cardrew posted above.
if the 43p rate was to continue - the figure would increase by another £1.5 BILLION0 -
I presume thats cost of current installs over the next 25 years then ?0
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