Solar panels to be installed on my council house

Bazmatti

Hi
Am looking for a bit of advice, my council (babergh district council) are surveying the houses in my local area to establish which council houses are suitable to have solar panels installed. Although this sounds like a good idea, I have a few concerns about the small print; 'the council is exclusively entitiled to the benifit of the Feed In Tariff during the FIT Period of 20 years from installation' what does this mean?!
'The part of the solar panel system known as the inverter may use a small amount of electricity, you will not charge the council for this electricity' how much is this likely to cost me?
'In the event that you exercise your right to buy your home, the cost of purchasing your home will take into consideration the cost of equipment, length of time that it has been installed and it's income generation potential.' This sounds like I will not receive any benefit from cheaper electricity if I buy my home?
I feel a little concerned about this conditions that are part of the installation and am not sure what, if any, rights I have to refuse the installation.

Any help or advice will be gratefully received.
Many thanks :rotfl:

jimmyboy420

The following should broadly answer your questions, whilst keeping things relatively simple.

'the council is exclusively entitiled to the benifit of the Feed In Tariff during the FIT Period of 20 years from installation' what does this mean?!

The solar panels make money in two ways.
1 - an energy company will pay for the electricity you generate - this is the "feed in tarriff"
2 - The occupants of the property can use the power generated by the solar panels as it's being generated, without being charged for it.

In the circumstance you described, you would benefit from using the electricity (point 2) as it's being generated (eg, during a sunny day). At night time, you will not benefit.

'The part of the solar panel system known as the inverter may use a small amount of electricity, you will not charge the council for this electricity' how much is this likely to cost me?

I have seen some claims of around 2 watts of power when in standby. This would equate to around 0.5p per day. You are likely to save far more than that without any difficulty at all.

'In the event that you exercise your right to buy your home, the cost of purchasing your home will take into consideration the cost of equipment, length of time that it has been installed and it's income generation potential.' This sounds like I will not receive any benefit from cheaper electricity if I buy my home?

Yes, it does. I would ask them for more details!

James

Bazmatti

Thanks for your help jimmyboy.

ed110220

I think what point 3 means is that if you were to buy your home from the council, they would price it to take account of how much they spent on the solar and how much they would lose from losing the feed in tariff ie you would need to pay them more than if the house had not had panels installed. I can't see how this relates to the cost of electricity, only how much the council would price your house at.

Ed

lstar337

ed110220 wrote: »

I think what point 3 means is that if you were to buy your home from the council, they would price it to take account of how much they spent on the solar and how much they would lose from losing the feed in tariff ie you would need to pay them more than if the house had not had panels installed. I can't see how this relates to the cost of electricity, only how much the council would price your house at.

Ed

I think Ed is right, as the council could not continue to apply for the FIT from your roof, they will add the cost of installation plus whatever they estimate the FIT would have brought them for the remainder of the installation lifespan on to the value of the house.

In short you would get the FIT when you take ownership, but you would have already paid that FIT to the council upfront when you bought the house cancelling out any benefit to yourself.

You would still get the free electric for as long as the system operates.

mac2008

lstar337 wrote: »

I think Ed is right, as the council could not continue to apply for the FIT from your roof, they will add the cost of installation plus whatever they estimate the FIT would have brought them for the remainder of the installation lifespan on to the value of the house.

In short you would get the FIT when you take ownership, but you would have already paid that FIT to the council upfront when you bought the house cancelling out any benefit to yourself.

You would still get the free electric for as long as the system operates.

The Council certainly could continue to claim the FiT, as per their point 1 they are "Exclusively entitled" to do so for the full 20 years.

Point 3 is very ambiguous IMO and you should ask for clarification with examples before committing. For example, they take into account the cost and length of time the equipment has been installed - what is their model? write off the capital cost over 3 years? or claim its still worth 50% in 10 years time? Also 'income generation potential' - depends if they keep the FiT or not. On what basis and with what what assumptions would they calculate the income potential?

Worst case example could be something like you try to buy your house after a year. The council add £5k for the install cost and £400 x 19 years (adjusted for some dubiously high inflation figure) for lost FiT income and you could have the worst of both worlds - paying for the panels and not getting the benefit.

lstar337

mac2008 wrote: »

The Council certainly could continue to claim the FiT, as per their point 1 they are "Exclusively entitled" to do so for the full 20 years.

Point 3 is very ambiguous IMO and you should ask for clarification with examples before committing. For example, they take into account the cost and length of time the equipment has been installed - what is their model? write off the capital cost over 3 years? or claim its still worth 50% in 10 years time? Also 'income generation potential' - depends if they keep the FiT or not. On what basis and with what what assumptions would they calculate the income potential?

Worst case example could be something like you try to buy your house after a year. The council add £5k for the install cost and £400 x 19 years (adjusted for some dubiously high inflation figure) for lost FiT income and you could have the worst of both worlds - paying for the panels and not getting the benefit.

Surely once you own the roof, you decide what can or cannot be done with it?

mac2008

lstar337 wrote: »

Surely once you own the roof, you decide what can or cannot be done with it?

Not if you've signed a valid legal document that says otherwise. Perfectly feasible to lease your roof to a company who collect the feed in tariff, with financial penalties for breaking the lease.

I'm not saying getting the council installed solar panels is bad idea. It could be a very good one. But on the info provided so far it is not possible to tell.

ChopperST

Sorry for the hijack OP but its pleasing to see that councils are looking at ways to increase their income that benefits both their tenants and the taxpayer at large. Its a no brainer for them to install them on their housing and commercial stocks and generate inflation proof income for years to come whilst also lowering the occupants energy bills.

ed110220

ChopperST wrote: »

Sorry for the hijack OP but its pleasing to see that councils are looking at ways to increase their income that benefits both their tenants and the taxpayer at large. Its a no brainer for them to install them on their housing and commercial stocks and generate inflation proof income for years to come whilst also lowering the occupants energy bills.

I agree, and councils and housing associations are often at the forefront of upgrading housing. For example the local housing association has installed the only external wall insulation I know of round here. But councils have always led the way in this regard eg council homes had loft insulation when built as early as the 1940s long before privately built ones.

Ed

ChopperST

Pretty much seems a no brainer provided they can afford the capital outlay in the first instance, they are investing for a revenue stream for the long term that benefits all of society.