Changes to FIT coming sooner that we thought!

[Visitor]

I was about to get PV installed and get a loan at 6.3% to pay for it. Made sense as returns were in the area of 10-12%, but it's not worth it any longer.

 

[jerriais]

Hold your horses. This is from DECC Twitter feed:

"Consultation on changes to the solar PV FIT to be published to Parlt on Mon. Doc on EST site earlier was neither final nor accurate. #FITS"

 

[fen]

I was about to get PV installed and get a loan at 6.3% to pay for it. Made sense as returns were in the area of 10-12%, but it's not worth it any longer.

Still worth it if you really get moving on it right now. Depends how much you want it.

 

[TMGL]

I can't see how that EST document can be accurate. As I read it, you'd get 21p per unit for a 3.99 kWp system..........and 37.8p per unit for a 4.01 kWp for installs between December 9th 2011 and March 31st 2012

 

[Visitor]

Still worth it if you really get moving on it right now. Depends how much you want it.

I made my thermal panel six years ago and it has paid for itself now. Got a quote for a 2kW for seven grand and a one for a 2.6kW for nine grand and was looking at getting installed pre April 2012 after some redundancies at work which be confirmed towards end of Novemnber. I need to see if I have a job in three weeks time before I can commit to anything. Damn!

 

[SolarCity]

Hold your horses. This is from DECC Twitter feed:

"Consultation on changes to the solar PV FIT to be published to Parlt on Mon. Doc on EST site earlier was neither final nor accurate. #FITS"

I've just read this also. How very helpful of them.

Perhaps I will not kill myself today after all.

We're talking about people's businesses here and to have it bounced like a f---ing X Factor decision is diabolical. Shame on them all.

 

[stevechorner]

Until it comes from the DECC it's nothing more than rumor, speculation or best guess!

JulianC is right until what ever happens nothing posted here can be taken as official announcement. Hold tight and keep an eye on the DECC website. When I see a post on here from that the I'll take note. Until then business as normal.

If you carry on with a "Business as Normal" approach without explaining to your potential customers that they may be affected by any soon to be announced Government decision that could affect them seriously then you are being negligent to your customers so I would suggest caution on that score.

 

[delleray]

Hi

Just thought that you ought to see what EST said about the document..
"28 October 2011 / Press releases / About us / Home (United Kingdom) - Energy Saving Trust"
reproduced...

28 October 2011


PRESS STATEMENT
In response to speculation on our position on the government’s review of Feed-in Tariffs, an Energy Saving Trust spokesperson said:
“We’ve been working on a draft consumer guidance document in relation to the Fast Track Review of Feed in Tariffs for Solar PV to pre-empt the Government consultation which is expected next week. Preparing advice on a potential announcement was the responsible thing to do as the leading consumer advice body in this area. Unfortunately, due to a technical error this document was made live.
“This is a work in progress document which is no longer on our web site and cannot be relied upon as the Government consultation has yet to be announced. Then and only then will we know the precise contents. We cannot confirm anything within our fact sheet until then.”

So this was their input to the review.

i would be more concerned about the conference keynote speech which was aimed at throttling the FIT tariff ("finite budget") to better match current PV costs.

It'll all depend on the timing...

D.

 

[finchy]

The government can't be thinking about the wider implication, the industries that are directly benefiting from this. Its the best way to stimulate our economy, cutting to 21p is a disaster (Get the treasury to put into the Fund). 35p perhaps and stop free solar creaming the market. If the DECC want to contact me to discuss there costing models I'm more than happy to help, I'm an accountant and the figures do not stack up at 21p, any payback over 8 years will not get any take up !
Increase the consultation period till April, keep the rates to allow firms to recover their costs, before weilding the axe to us !

 

[riverlodge]

@ finchy - I'm an accountant too, and both agree and disagree - the figures do stack up, but as the release says, at rates of return at sub 5%!
I was looking to install, as it was attractive, but not now. Particularly as it isn't a truly portable investment.

 

[langstroth2]

I was looking to install, as it was attractive, but not now

If you can achieve an install in the next few weeks I would say there's still time**, might be a bit stress-full though. Once you have the MCS certificate, and your FiT supplier has acknowledged receipt of the FiT application then you are OK.
(here's hoping - I'm still waiting for the actual paper work back - EoN have acknowledge receipt verbally)

**assuming that rumored 8th Dec date is accurate

 

[delleray]

If you can achieve an install in the next few weeks I would say there's still time. Once you have the MCS certificate, and your FiT supplier has acknowledged receipt of the FiT application then you are OK.
(here's hoping - I'm still waiting for the actual paper work back - EoN have acknowledge receipt verbally)

the advise from EST is worth taking..

submission of an application for the FIT which
o Is complete
o Is received by chosen FIT Licensee before 8 December 2011
o Includes a complete and valid MCS certificate
o Includes a generation meter reading taken within the last 5 working days of the date the application is received by the FIT Licensee

and checking your FIT licensee has all the information that they need. So check what they want before sending it out..

d.

 

[solarelectrix]

Keep current Feed in Tariffs (FIT) rates for a further 5 Years. - e-petitions

might be a bit late, but here is the place to change minds! Sign the e- petition!

 

[finchy]

Another point is the government using EST or SAP2009 for its assumptions.....what does MCS & REAL have to say about that !?! Will this change now bring the north/south divide, because of irradiance differences...LOL ! I'm currently re-modeling our pricing to see what sort of business we will have left, Sanyo's out !!! SMA debatable...what sort of system does the DECC expect us to install....

 

[fitzsparks]

I have to admit to being very disappointed about this slashing of the FiT rates. We have got several jobs booked and these are now serious jeopardy due to the new rates and the time-scales involved.

We all know that the "Free Solar Panel" brigade have been making us all look like criminals and I was hoping that these comedians would have been stamped out. As is the way with our friends in Westminster, they have listened to the more powerful lobby groups and not actually addressed the real issues be-setting our young industry. Instead of curing these issues, they have effectively wiped this business off the map. IF the proposals turn out to be inaccurately quoted, this smells of the sort of nonsense that Gordon Brown's government used to peddle in putting a proposal in the public domain as a "leak" and then gauging the reaction afterwards. I hope that they have time and the guts to see sense before publishing the "official" version of this review.

 

[paulgwyn]

Just an ordinary prospective customer with a (self!) interest in this and am glad to report that the latest on the EST web-site is a denial of the 8th December date:
[h=1]28 October 2011[/h]
PRESS STATEMENT
In response to speculation on our position on the government’s review of Feed-in Tariffs, an Energy Saving Trust spokesperson said:
“We’ve been working on a draft consumer guidance document in relation to the Fast Track Review of Feed in Tariffs for Solar PV to pre-empt the Government consultation which is expected next week. Preparing advice on a potential announcement was the responsible thing to do as the leading consumer advice body in this area. Unfortunately, due to a technical error this document was made available for search.
“This is a work in progress document which is no longer on our web site and cannot be relied upon as the Government consultation has yet to be announced. Then and only then will we know the precise contents. We cannot confirm anything within our fact sheet until then.”
Ends

Lets hope?

 

[langstroth2]

ummm - that isn't a denial of the 8th - just a statement that the date can't be confirmed. A subtle but important difference in mandarin speak.

 

[JulianC]

If you carry on with a "Business as Normal" approach without explaining to your potential customers that they may be affected by any soon to be announced Government decision that could affect them seriously then you are being negligent to your customers so I would suggest caution on that score.

Not negligent at all. What do we tell them? "The internet says bad things about the FIT so you'd better give me your deposit now"?

Actually, if I can be serious for a minute (I'll admit, it's difficult) I have been mentioning to potential customers today that the FIT is currently under review and there is the possibility of changes occurring before April, but I have said no more than that because, frankly, none of us know any more than that.

As soon as I know what is going to happen, I will be telling people without delay.

Tell you what is bloody negligent though...first survey today, bloke shows us a quote he's already got from some cowboy operator for 3 rows of panels that clearly won't fit on his roof. No mention of structural survey and no account of the fairly bloody obvious shading from a line of huge poplars along his street. Second survey, we're the fourth company the bloke's had round and the first to look in his loft and at his consumer unit!! No felt behind his slates and no bonding in place. He had an inkling that this would need doing but we were the first to point it out to him! Stuff like this really boils my wee wee and if nothing else, I hope a cut in the FIT rate sends these scheisters scurrying off to the job centre.

 

[rsmart]

i agree and hope it does get rid of all the salesmen and free-solar crap that all my customers end up going through before they come across me a hardworking electrician who has re-trained, invested time and money, trained up my apprentices, taught them new skills and put them on courses to help me carry out the installation work. I get all all my jobs surveyed by a structural surveyor, most of them new consumer unit upgrades, bonding upgrades etc. I got into this solar to offer another service to my customers. This tariff change will dstroy all i have worked for in the last 3 years and i will have to lay people off. Thanks very much to the government, one part of the economy providing jobs (installers, distributors, surveyors, scaffolders etc) and they want to take it away. What a load of *******s!!

 

[Cider]

Oh dear never mind, its not like i've invested 20k to get up and running !!!!