March 4th, 2010
No spare cash for investing in PV Solar Panels? Then help is coming with the Government’s proposed new ‘green loan’ scheme.
These ‘pay-as-you-go’ loans will cover the capital costs of installing renewable energy, such as solar electricity provided by PV panels. You won’t have to pay back more than you’re saving. Loans will be at a low rate of interest, and can be spread over 25 years. During this period you’ll benefit from savings on your electricity bill and once paid off, you’ll receive all the benefits of the Feed-in Tariffs. Loans will tied to the property rather than the householder and if you move, the loan passes on to the new owner.
So, lots more people will be able to reap the rewards provided by PV solar panels. And reduce their carbon footprint. Looks like a Good Scheme!
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February 10th, 2010
Have you got between £8000 and £15000 to invest? With PV solar panels, facing between south-west and south-east, you are likely to get a 7 % to 10 % tax free return, linked to inflation. That sounds like a good investment to me.
Here’s how it works:
Install a PV solar panel system of up to 4 kWp and you will be paid 41.3p for every unit of solar electricity you generate. If you don’t use it all yourself, you get paid an extra 3p for every unit you export to the National Grid. And what’s more the Government are guaranteeing the payments, linked to the Retail Price Index, for 25 years. ‘Enough’ as Ed Miliband says ‘to reward [householders] with up to £900 in the first year on top of a £140-a-year saving on their bills’.
With the expected 20 % hike in conventional electricity prices by 2020, you’ll probably have paid off your initial investment in 10 years. And PV panels have guaranteed outputs for 25 years and they usually last a great deal longer.
Sounds Good! Why not get a quote and take advantage of these excellent returns and make a contribution to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions, too.
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February 1st, 2010
Today Ed Miliband from the DECC said the Feed-in Tariff for domestic customers, with retrofit pv solar panels, with systems up to 4 kWp, would be at 41.3 p from April 2010. This means householders will be paid 41.3 p for every unit of solar electricity they generate. Tariffs will be inflated annually and the tariff life time is 25 years. And the income is tax free too!
A typical 2.5 kWp well-sited solar pv installation, on an average 3-bedroomed house, could offer homeowners a reward of £900 and save them £140 per annum on their electricity bill, from April 2010. There are still grants available to help pay for the installation costs of PV panels – in Scotland grants are up to £4000 and in the rest of the UK up to £2500, per property – but you need to get your installation booked before 31 March to take advantage of these.
There’s bound to be a rush for installations with this generous Feed-in Tariff, so hurry and get your installation booked now.
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January 25th, 2010
John Moriarty from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, speaking at the Microgeneration Forum on 22nd January, said that the Feed-in Tariff rates would be confirmed on 1st, 2nd or 3rd February. It is still expected that the rate for domestic customers will be 36.5p for every unit of solar electricity generated, with an additional 5p per unit for solar electricity exported to the National Grid.
There are still grants available towards installation of PV solar panels – up to £4000 per property in Scotland and up to £2500 in the rest of the UK – up until March 2010. If you want to take advantage of both grant and Feed-in tariff, you need to act NOW – there is bound to be a rush for PV panel installations, when the tariffs are confirmed. Why not e-mail or telephone for a quotation and site visit TODAY, so that you too can benefit from both grant and feed-in tariff.
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January 23rd, 2010
In Scotland, grants are still available of up to £4000 per property and up to £2500 in the rest of the UK. But, you need to hurry; these are due to end in March 2010, when the proposed Feed-in Tariff of 36.5p per unit of solar electricity generated comes into force. If you install PV Solar Panels before March you could benefit from both grant and the Feed-in Tariff, which makes solar panels a good investment choice.
Why not visit www.energysavinstrust.org.uk. The Energy Savings Trust provide independent advise or go to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s website – www.lowcarbonbuilding.org.uk - and look at the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, which gives details of grants.
Then arrange for a site survey and quotation for a PV solar panel installation from an accredited installer, under the Microgeneration certification scheme. And before you know it, you’ll not only be making savings on your electricity bill, but receiving a tax-free income from any excess solar electricity you generate too.
As the Government’s white paper says: an average household, with well-sited PV panels, could receive over £800 income, plus bill savings of around £140, a year. There couldn’t be a better time, so why not telephone or e-mail for a quote TODAY!
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January 18th, 2010
On 14 January, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband said: “The recession will not deflect the Government’s efforts to cut emissions and move to a low carbon economy. We will not let up on the fight against climate change, instead we must redouble our efforts at home and internationally so the UK emerges from the global downturn building on the opportunities and benefits a low carbon future will bring.”
It looks as though Miliband will be confirming the rate of the Feed-in Tariffs, expected to be 36.5 p for every unit of electricity generated, soon. His press release says: ‘We will shortly be setting out details of our ‘clean energy cash-back’ schemes for people and businesses that generate low carbon heat and electricity.”
If you want to benefit from these tariffs and make a profit by generating your own solar electricity, you need to act now and have a PV Solar Panel Installation up and ready by April 2010, when the Feed-in tariff comes into force.
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January 12th, 2010
Yesterday (11 January), the Environmental Audit Committee reported to the Government that the current speed of UK Carbon Cutting Measures was too slow. If the UK is to try and keep temperature rises below 30 percent by 2020, carbon emissions must be reduced by 42 percent by 2020.
The Committee’s Chair, Tim Yeo MP, said that we must meet our targets more quickly and so send a clear signal to developing countries that the UK is serious about making an international deal on carbon reduction work.
To achieve such targets the Government must increase its backing of renewable energy. Solar electricity has an important part to play in enabling carbon reductions to take place. If every home in the UK, with a roof facing between south-west and south-east, installed photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, the UK’s chances of reaching these targets would be greatly increased.
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December 30th, 2009
Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond used his New Year message to promote renewable energy. He said how Scotland could take full advantage of the ‘renewable revolution’ if the Scottish Parliament had more powers, with equal access to the electricity grid. At present it faces the highest UK transmission costs to the National Grid.
However, the Climate Change Act passed in 2009 set legally binding targets to cut Scottish greenhouse gas emissions by 42 % by 2020. In order to reach these targets, all forms of renewable energy need to be employed.
PV Solar Panels capture the sun’s energy and turn this into solar electricity. PV panels don’t need direct sunlight and generate solar electricity even on cloudy days. As the Energy Savings Trust writes ‘A typical home PV system can produce around 40 % of the electricity a household uses a year’.
Grants of upto £4000 are still available in many part of Scotland when you install PV panels. New feed-in tariffs, due in April 2010 will mean you can sell any excess solar electricity back to the national grid. This means investing in Solar Panels is a good way to start 2010. You get a return on your investment and help Scotland achieve the 42 % reduction target.
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December 16th, 2009
The Prime Minister is anxious to secure a strong and fair climate agreement. If he is serious in his commitment, he will press ahead with Green groups calls for a pledge to cut UK emissions by at least 40 % by 2020, with no carbon offsetting.
In order to fulfil the pledge, renewable energy must be given more encouragement. One way is by introducing higher feed-in tariffs, which will help homeowners to do their part. New feed-in tariffs are due to start in April 2010 and PV solar panels are one of the best ways of taking advantage of the scheme. Cut your own carbon footprint and install photovoltaic solar panels early in 2010 so that you can play your part by generating clean green solar electricity.
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December 10th, 2009
In Alistair Darling’s Pre-Budget speech, it was agreed that plans for payments to homes for all the electricity they produce from small scale renewable energy schemes will be tax free - this extends a welcome existing tax-break to the new scheme. Thanks to Friends of the Earth for this information.
The official estimate is that homeowners will save about £180 a year, on top of the money received from feed-in tariffs. The new tariff has not yet been confirmed, but is still expected to be 36.5p from April 2010 for every unit of solar electricity generated. We should hear from the Chancellor soon and then no doubt the rush for Solar Installations will begin.
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