Solar PV option to buy?

dossa51

Hi all,

Although I'm new to the forum I've been a fan of renewable energy for years and was delighted to finally have 10 panels installed on my roof a few months ago.

It's been a productive summer and I've just dinged 1000kwh.

I did my deal for the panels with the devil that is 'Think Green Earth'. It is only since reading posts on this forum and from my own experience that I realise how many of these fly-by-night companies are unprofessional and inefficient, putting themselves before the customer.

With that said, I opted for the free installation (subject to a £400 roof survey) so I merely receive the electricity generated by the panels rather than FITs. This was due to my financial position but having seen how much is generated by my panels I am now thinking that you have to spend money to make money.

I was wondering if anyone has been in the same position as me and has had any success in purchasing their panels (and all rights to FITs) AFTER the initial installation. Is this a massive ballache with lots of paperwork and not worth the effort? Or is there a way to make it happen without legal headaches? Bear in mind that Think Green Earth are notoriously difficult to get hold of - the phone number they initially gave me that used to work now doesn't function and their website is a blank white page - I suspect this is due to 90% of the communications they receive being complaints.

Does anyone have any experience or wisdom to share on the 'option to buy' issue with solar PV?

Many thanks in advance.

zeupater

Hi

Welcome to the forum ...

The answer really revolves around what size your 10 panel system is in terms of kWp, it's actual install date and what your contracted clause for buy-out says about it's value .... it could work out that there's no point in purchasing the system because it's too expensive an option for the potential returns ....

HTH
Z

dossa51

Well it's certainly not something to retire on, but since April they've generated just under 1000kwh, although obviously I don't know how much was used and how much went back into the grid. Worryingly I don't have any contracts for the process, electronic or otherwise. I remember signing stuff and sending it off, but never received anything back.

Perhaps it's something I shouldn't concern myself with. Bills have dropped dramatically and I will certainly recoup the £650 (survey and scaffolding) within the next few years. Maybe I should focus on that rather than owning the panels and taking even longer to recoup almost ten grand. FITs will only fall in the future as more people have panels fitted, so I've probably got the best deal as things are.

Thanks for your help

zeupater

dossa51 wrote: »

Well it's certainly not something to retire on, but since April they've generated just under 1000kwh, although obviously I don't know how much was used and how much went back into the grid. Worryingly I don't have any contracts for the process, electronic or otherwise. I remember signing stuff and sending it off, but never received anything back.

Perhaps it's something I shouldn't concern myself with. Bills have dropped dramatically and I will certainly recoup the £650 (survey and scaffolding) within the next few years. Maybe I should focus on that rather than owning the panels and taking even longer to recoup almost ten grand. FITs will only fall in the future as more people have panels fitted, so I've probably got the best deal as things are.

Thanks for your help

Hi

The contract for FiTs is for the full 25years set at a level which is valid at the date of installation/registration and should only change relative to annual inflation (as long as legislation doesn't change). The date of registration is important as the rate at which the FiT is paid depends on this and the rate has been reduced a few times over the past year.

You really do need to get hold of your copy of the signed contract from the supplier, for peace of mind if nothing else ... I'd be pretty concerned if I'd signed away rights to my property for 25years and had nothing to refer to ..... The contract should provide details of your responsibility regarding maintenance access and fault reporting, access to you own roof and any charges which they may levy on you for lost generation income for these instances - as well as detailing your purchase options, if any. It seems that most RAR scheme operators do allow householders to purchase a system at some point down the line, with the price being set on a sliding scale reflecting the period installed ... however, most seem to overinflate the starting value for the scale, so I'd be very surprised if an average RAR system (3.3kWp ?) fitted earlier this year would be available for £10k.

Regarding recovering £650 within the next few years ... I'd check that assumption out as most with a 4kWp system who try to maximise self consumption would expect to save around the £100/year mark, so a 'few years' could be more like 5-7

HTH
Z

grahamc2003

Dossa, if you have the type of buyout contract as discussed on here a year ago (which was a linear decrease each year for 25 years), then just sit back for 10 years until the inverter fails and is replaced, then buy the system.
By then, the fits will have risen by inflation and will be large relative to the decreased buyout price, and your return will be very large.
The buyout contracts were discussed with a solar company MD, and I just never saw the business case for his business in the way he described his company's contract - just when the benefits are large and the returns high, they may have to sell their systems for a low price (and worse still, just after replacing the inverter).

rogerblack

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Dossa, if you have the type of buyout contract as discussed on here a year ago (which was a linear decrease each year for 25 years), then just sit back for 10 years until the inverter fails and is replaced, then buy the system.

I note that it's likely inverter prices will have fallen very, very significantly in 10 years.

dossa51

zeupater wrote: »

You really do need to get hold of your copy of the signed contract from the supplier, for peace of mind if nothing else ... I'd be pretty concerned if I'd signed away rights to my property for 25years and had nothing to refer to ..... The contract should provide details of your responsibility regarding maintenance access and fault reporting, access to you own roof and any charges which they may levy on you for lost generation income for these instances - as well as detailing your purchase options, if any.

In this case, does anyone have any way of contacting Think Green Earth? As I said in my first post, their original phone number seems invalid and their website is a blank page. I've also noticed, elsewhere in this forum, that the company and its MD have both been labelled as disreputable by many users, which leads me to think that they won't be forthcoming in furnishing me with a copy of the contract.

Any advice?

EricMears

dossa51 wrote: »

In this case, does anyone have any way of contacting Think Green Earth? As I said in my first post, their original phone number seems invalid and their website is a blank page. I've also noticed, elsewhere in this forum, that the company and its MD have both been labelled as disreputable by many users, which leads me to think that they won't be forthcoming in furnishing me with a copy of the contract.

Any advice?

If you have their website address, try looking up the owner's details on :-
http://www.whois.net/

dossa51

Therein lies the problem: using that website it turns out that thinkgreenearth.co.uk is available, so they've obviously moved on and changed their company name for some worrying reason.

Has anyone on this forum tracked their movements enough to have up to date contact details?

Thanks in advance.

Jamie_Carter

I don't know how much of this is true, but I have heard quite a few negative reports about solar panels.

Firstly the fact that can take many, many years to recoup your money. And secondly the fact that the panels only have a limited life, and will eventually need replacing.

So the OP might be better off financially just staying as they are, and getting cheaper bills.

zeupater

dossa51 wrote: »

Therein lies the problem: using that website it turns out that thinkgreenearth.co.uk is available, so they've obviously moved on and changed their company name for some worrying reason.

Has anyone on this forum tracked their movements enough to have up to date contact details?

Thanks in advance.

Hi

I'd start with contacting MCS (http://www.microgenerationcertification.org/) ... they'll be able to access the registration trace who the FiT payments are to be paid to.

As you can't contact your RAR company and they haven't supplied a copy contract the MCS should be able to help ... if the RAR scheme operator doesn't play ball then they should have the option to instruct the industry to cancel or suspend any FiT payments which will fall due ...

The system ghas been set-up to protect the consumer from dodgy practices, so simply test their reslove to deliver what they have been tasked to do ....

I'd go for a two pronged approach and contact the EST as well ... there's a thread on this forum which they sometimes frequent, but I find most of what they post to be a little untimely, basic & pretty ill-conceived ... perhaps you'll have more luck ... the best approach would probably be to contact them through the website (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/) or via one of the local office contact numbers it contains ...

Keep up informed ... there are a number of industry insiders frequenting this site who could provide more information to help if necessary .....

HTH
Z