FIT rates after May announced

[SolarRoofSols]

For systems over 50kW then planning permission is always required.

Thanks Ted. I am looking in the Draft Guidance (12/12) and it seem s to suggest that you can get a 'Lawful Development Certificate' where installations don't require full planning permission. So if we were to install 100kW, keeping in the rules of permitted development then I understand that the development cert will cover it. Section 3.11. Is this what you mean by it always being required?

 

[TedM]

Permitted development, both domestic and non-domestic, only specifically applies to 'microgeneration' which is defined as up to 50kW. Anything over that would need full planning permission.

A lawful development certificate is really just for grey areas to confirm that you haven't breached any PD rules. If you put up 100kW without full planning then you might find the LPA enforcement team asking you to remove it or even taking it down themselves.

 

[SolarRoofSols]

I may be getting confused then.

Section 3 is for Preliminary Accreditation for ROO FIT which only I thought applies to installs over 50kW, so by default they would accept PD and the lawful development certificate wouldn't they, as it is stated under this section?

I know that the lawful development cert is applied for via the planning portal and is authorised by the LPA, as I have just been told by our local officer, so could they enforce a removal if the installation was carried out in line with the application specs?

 

[TedM]

What OFGEM have said at 3.11 isn't wrong as such - but it doesn't apply to PV systems over 50kW. The key word is "Where".

You cannot install a PV system over 50kW and have it comply with permitted development rules as it would be outside the scope. But there may well be some LPAs who don't actually realise this.