Solar PV Feed In Tariffs - Good or Bad?

John_Pierpoint

I stayed in a B&B&EM establishment, for about £14 a night.
My hosts lived in rural squalor of their own making [If you scratch a living from about 25 acres of terraced hill-side, does it make sense to have a family of 8?]

However living in the tropics, in the middle of a lake, did mean their pantile roof was a suitable site for PV panels. Used for lighting and TV watching during the starlit 12 hour night.

don0301

I am dying to know...

after months of arguing against solar panels...

why grahamc2003 then got a system?

and further...

after not many days..

probably concerntrating on the potential explosions....:D

realised he had a completely inappropriate sytem cos of shadow?

over to you graham?

greengrow

a

don0301 wrote: »

the fact is the Government is committed to spreading this technology in this country, other countries have used this system to encourage people to invest.

personally, I've invested in a system. I'm gonna get a great return on my investment. I've got a reduced electric bill. On a good day I can wash,dishwash, make cups of tea, hoover for free. At the moment I'm producing a constant 2.6kW. and I will be a net exporter of electric to the Grid over the year. I'm very happy. So good

I wonder if the panel performance is better than expected at the time they set the FIT rate? Could that be another reason why the governemt want to cut it prematurely? There are still voices claiming that it doesn't amount to much but - actually it's really adding up and doing the economy good.

However solar panel owners should now have a club or union to represent them. Does anyone know of one?

jamesingram

Here's some unbiased green propaganda for ya

Solar PV Reducing Price of Electricity in Germany

"Oh, the solar power haters* are going to love this one—a recent study by Germany’s Institute for Future Energy Systems (IZES), conducted on behalf of of the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar), has found that, on average, solar power has reduced the price of electricity 10% in Germany (on the EPEX exchange).
Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/15C72)"

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/09/solar-pv-reducing-price-of-electricity-in-germany/

Martyn1981

James, got to say, that's a shock to me, even though it's what I thought / hoped would be the result, it still seems too big and too soon, even for Germany?

Trying to play Devils Advocate, have you any idea if those numbers are accepted or disputed?

My thoughts (and repetitive comments) have always been that we need commerce and industry to get on board, with systems no bigger than steady demand, that would guarantee them near 100% consumption, and therefore a higher return on investment (without subsidies) than domestic can ever achieve. I really think that this is the area that should takeover the 'heavy lifting' next.

I love that line;

"The advantage of solar is that it produces the most electricity when there’s the most demand for the electricity—it’s a nearly perfect match."

As I said in my post on the 22nd, it all comes down to Economics. Once economics takes over, renewables will have a much easier ride.

Fingers crossed that the UK starts to see similar results in a few years as PV, and renewables in general grow in capacity.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Here's a nice article with lots of bits and bobs about PV in the UK, and the UK's PV industry.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/05/wrexham-europe-solar-energy?intcmp=122

FITs being recycled into LA housing budget.

Doubt the £200 to £300 savings, unless they use a huge amount of leccy, or are on, very unpleasant tariffs, perhaps top-ups. Maybe even some leccy heating.

Like the bit about being cheaper than nuclear and gas by 2020. Would, even guess that 30kWp+ installs could already be cheaper over 40 years (£45k / 1mkWh's), if nuclear costs 5p/kWh (still can't find definite prices that include subsidies.) Domestic size installs will probably take 5 years or more to get down to those prices.

Mart.

Blossom2528

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Here's a nice article with lots of bits and bobs about PV in the UK, and the UK's PV industry.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/05/wrexham-europe-solar-energy?intcmp=122

FITs being recycled into LA housing budget.

Mart.

3000 council houses in one area, all done. Very impressive.

zeupater

Blossom2528 wrote: »

3000 council houses in one area, all done. Very impressive.

Hi

.... and you'll note that they were funded by the local authority borrowing £28million and were not funded by a commercial R-A-R scheme operator, an excellent use of public funds for a change which should subsidise the council tax in that area a little for the next 25 years .... anyone know how the similar project in Stoke-On-Trent is going ? ... or the many others ?

... a decent example of FiT being put to good effect ...

HTH
Z

Martyn1981

I know I keep harping on about the potential long term benefits of PV. But I really do feel that schemes like this, especially as panel and install prices come down, are the way of the future.

Given the buying power of LA's I hope that more and more at least consider schemes such as this. Recycling FITs, and helping to remove FITs eventually can surely only have long term benefits.

I also really love the idea that in places like India, PV is now the cheapest source of off-grid energy. Hopefully we will now see a snowball effect on production and prices, with less and less artificial financial support.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Only a re-cap of some recent news, but some of the company quotes are interesting.

German power giants decide to invest in PV and renewables rather than nuclear. So they’ve gone from trying to knock the growth of renewables, to trying to make money from them instead.

It seems even a Leopard can change its spots, if it’s willing to stop and re-assess the situation occasionally.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-11/rwe-may-invest-in-photovoltaic-plants-on-lower-costs

“Solar prices have since dropped “dramatically, more than we have expected,” Hans Buenting, chief financial officer of RWE’s renewable energy unit Innogy, said on a conference call with analysts on April 10. “We are looking at more promising countries in Europe rather than in Germany for first projects.”

Solar cell prices fell 58 percent to 52 cents a watt last year as Chinese manufacturers led by Suntech Power Holdings Co. boosted production, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance data.”

http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/german-utilities-back-out-of-british-nuclear-power-plan_201925.html

“Eon Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen told the Handelsblatt news website: "We came to the conclusion that investments in renewable, decentralized generation and energy efficiency are more attractive."

Eon said it still retained an investment in construction of a nuclear power plant in Finland as a minority shareholder, but would not rule out dropping that too. RWE had no new nuclear projects left.”

Mart.