Solar Panels - Help needed re Decommissioning, Removing, Recycling

chat01

Hi, previously posted this in the Energy Forum, but it was suggested it may find a better home here...

We are buying a two storey house that has a 16 panel 4KW solar pv installed on the (slate tiled) roof.
We need to remove this (long story - but it has to be done and can't be relocated etc) and wondered how to go about it. The panels are owned by the seller, not a third party.
System was installed in 2013 and the FiT unfortunately has 12 years to run which I guess will be 'lost'. The FiT is currently paid via EON Energy.
Given EON's website info (see below) I'm guessing we can't just have any old electrician turn up and 'turn it off' and remove the inverter and a roofer to pop onto the roof and remove the panels?

Does anybody have any experience of decommissioning a residential PV installation and provide some advice? Who will do this? Cost? Does it have to be recycled? Second hand market for equipment? Will there be any damage to the roof tiles that needs fixing? etc etc

Can I remove my solar panels?
Important: If you remove the solar panels they’ll no longer be eligible for the FiT scheme or FiT payments. Please also be aware that the panels can’t be transferred to another site and be eligible again for the FiT scheme.
If you remove the solar panels you must let us know using the 'Contact us' banner above and as a minimum, send us a combination of the following:
1.     Written confirmation from the installer/decommissioning certificate.
2.     Photographs of the site and dismantled equipment.
3.     Keep track of the amount of electricity you’ve generated.
4.     Disposal evidence (if the equipment is being scrapped), for example signed documentation or certification from the transportation or disposal company who are removing the waste.

Thanks in advance.
C

Keep_pedalling

Seems nuts to do this with the current price of electricity, but yes you are going to need a specialist company to decommission the system and it is not going to be cheap. The panels still have plenty of life in them so they will have a second hand value.

jimjames

That's an awful lot of money being wasted/forgone. Is there no way you can change the roof to keep them?

chat01

jimjames said:

That's an awful lot of money being wasted/forgone. Is there no way you can change the roof to keep them?

It's a Grade II listed property and the marketing/sale has brought it to the attention of the Conservation Officer and local Planning Enforcement Team. They were installed without any Listed Building Consent in a Conservation Area, and doubt they would have ever got approval for them. Whilst they are at the rear of the property, and generally out of sight, they are, imho, unsightly on an old property such as this. 

I take the view that I have never had  the benefit of them and so I am not losing anything!

EricMears

Surely,  whoever installed them without listed building consent must be responsible for removing them ?

No reason for you to get involved apart from assuring whoever that you will allow access.

chat01

EricMears said:

Surely,  whoever installed them without listed building consent must be responsible for removing them ?

No reason for you to get involved apart from assuring whoever that you will allow access.

Unfortunately not, at the point of us purchasing the property they become our problem. Our accepted offer/agreed purchase price was based on this knowledge by the way, and so we have gone into this with our eyes open.

Just need to understand the practicalities of decommissioning etc if anyone has ever actually done it?

arty688

Sorry if you have done this already but have you tried a local solar installer ? I guess it would be a similar process if your roof needed changing which must happen quite a bit ,although the plan would be to put them back on again I suppose. 

Keep_pedalling

chat01 said:

jimjames said:

That's an awful lot of money being wasted/forgone. Is there no way you can change the roof to keep them?

It's a Grade II listed property and the marketing/sale has brought it to the attention of the Conservation Officer and local Planning Enforcement Team. They were installed without any Listed Building Consent in a Conservation Area, and doubt they would have ever got approval for them. Whilst they are at the rear of the property, and generally out of sight, they are, imho, unsightly on an old property such as this. 

I take the view that I have never had  the benefit of them and so I am not losing anything!

You have no choice then. There are companies out there that provide this service but it is specialised and there are strict rules about recycling the panels which is why EON want those details. 

I suggest googling for companies in your area? Have you been given a deadline to get them off the roof?

2nd_time_buyer

I am wondering if there is any possibility of changing the panels. Newer ones are a lot more efficient. The all-black ones will blend in much better than the previous generation ones. Might be worth have a chat with the conservation officer. As I imagine they are under some pressure to be more 'green'.

I am guessing you will lose the Fit payments

Astria

They want to know that the panels have been removed correctly, hence why questions 1 & 2. After all, they are tied into the grid, so if someone removed them incorrectly, it could cause problems for the rest of your street which then if investigated to your property, could cost you ££££.

The 4th question is simply because they are considered a specialist waste/recycling product and so they need to make sure they are done properly. If your intention is to simply sell them on, then proof of this sale should be sufficient.

QrizB

There are three separate issues here, or so it seems to me.

1. Removing the system. This should be a pretty simple job but needs both "electrician" and "roofer" skills. I can't see why you'd need a MCS-accredited installer other than for convenience.

2. Disposal. Resale seems the simplest option; a complete system like this should fetch £500-£1000 on eBay (I've been keeping an eye on the site, looking for something similar local to me).

3. Making good. This could be the tricky bit (as I imagine it will need to be done to the satisfaction of the Conservation Officer) but will depend on exactly how it was fitted in the first place. For example under-tile hooks might come out without damaging anything, or they might not. Your "roofer" from step 1 might be able to advise.