Knowledge: Solar PV
Has the sun set on solar?
Chris Kottis, GreenKit’s commercial director, dispels the myth that the time to
invest in PV is over for homeowners left confused by changes to the Feed-in Tariff
and negative media coverage
he most common
misconception
in the market is
that the time has
gone to invest
in solar, largely fuelled by the
government’s poor handling of
the changes to the Feed in Tariff
(FiT). The reality however could
not be further from the truth as
the cost of installing solar PV and
the component products are at
their lowest price ever.
Feedback from the installers
we supply is showing that the
returns remain as strong now as
they were when the FiT was at
its highest, with solar PV often
providing double digit returns on
investment. Coupled with the
fact that over the last ten years,
oil prices have risen by more than
200 percent, gas by 145 percent
and electricity by 115 percent,
it’s likely that returns will remain
strong for years to come.
Some customers suggest
that they are planning to wait for
installation prices to fall further.
Market evidence however points
to the fact that the drop in the
cost of installations has slowed
and reached a natural plateau
considering the raw material
costs. The government has
however outlined that the FiT
will continue to fall until it is
T
Government would do well to more
effectively outline its longer term
strategy for PV
eventually removed in 2018, so
again it points to now as being a
good time to invest.
Naturally fi nding the initial
investment can be a challenge
for some, although fi nancial
schemes are now increasingly
widely available. Some are
simply ‘renting their roofs’ which
remains a good option to reduce
energy bills, but they face losing
out on the excellent 20 year
investment returns from the FiT.
Let’s also not forget the UN’s
recent, and most comprehensive,
climate panel report which states
that there is overwhelming
evidence to prove that climate
change is real and posing a
signifi cant threat to, amongst
other things, food security and
humankind itself.
Energy secretary Ed Davey
said: “The UK government
must abandon its short-sighted
championing of fracking and
oil, and get fully behind energy
effi ciency and our home-grown
The cost of installing solar PV and the
component products are at their lowest
price ever
renewable power potential
instead.
“The only road that leads
to both a reduction in carbon
emissions and economic growth
is one built on a clean industrial
revolution. This means investing
and innovating now in large scale
renewable deployment - most
of the energy and technology
already exist, but needs rapid
scaling up today not tomorrow.
For in the long term, prevention
will be a lot cheaper than the
cure.”
It would appear that the
government remains committed
to solar PV and other renewable
technologies although it would
do well to more effectively outline
its longer term strategy in order
to provide a more sustainable
platform for installers.
Work must be done to
continue to reduce the UK’s
CO2 emissions. Preliminary
fi gures for 2013 suggest that net
emissions of carbon dioxide are
estimated to be 464.3 million
tonnes, a decrease of 6.4 percent
on 2010 fi gures, although some
way off the government’s target
of reducing CO2 by 80 percent
by 2050.
The government also
remains legally bound by its
commitment to generate 20
percent of electricity from
renewables by 2020. With energy
security an increasing concern,
we’re not surprised that the
government sees solar energy
as a scaleable, easy to install
and proven technology that it
anticipates will triple its output
contribution over the next ten
years.
It seems that the sun has
far from set on solar but as the
industry improves its effi ciency,
manufactures become more
competitive and consumers of
energy become more aware of the
benefi ts, perhaps it will in-fact be
facing a new dawn for Solar PV.
Sound check: Potential customers
should be reminded that PV returns
remain as strong now as they were
when the FiT was at its highest,
advises Chris Kottis, GreenKit’s
commercial director
www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk | 23