Rumours of the death of Solar Panels have been greatly exaggerated (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Rumours of the death of Solar Panels have been greatly exaggerated

4:48pm Wednesday 2nd May 2012 in Business Blogs By Paul Hutchens

Like many people, I have noticed the drop in installations since the introduction of energy efficiency (EPC) requirements on April 1 this year. With DECC publishing weekly data on the feed-in tariff scheme’s capacity, I am not alone.

It has been suggested in the press and by some in our industry that the recent cuts will kill the industry. Some said a 50 per cent cut to the feed-in tariff (FIT) would kill the industry back in December 2011, but, as I suspected, this did not materialise. Unfortunately the suggestion that the cuts would kill off the industry is what has dominated the press coverage.

So is this why do customers not seem to be placing orders?

The first reason is because customers are confused by the conflicting information that is being peddled about. They may also be fed up with the constant changes and tinkering by the Government.

But, to put the situation in context, the FIT scheme was always meant to be temporary to support a new fledgling industry. It was always designed to be reduced in line with costs.

The fact is the current rate of 21p works. As an industry we need to focus on reassuring the public that solar still provides great returns. The current tariff of 21p/kWh for domestic schemes is producing a sound Annual Return of up to 10%; thanks to the reduction in PV component prices - which is still guaranteed for 25 years and linked to inflation.

That is equivalent to the return we could provide a year ago when people were queuing up to buy solar PV systems! We just need to ensure that the costs and benefits stay in line going forward.

Secondly customers believe that the EPC requirements will make a solar energy system prohibitive. To put customer’s minds at rest we have now installed quite a few systems following an EPC. This EPC can be organised in days and, in more cases than not, simply comes up with a ‘D’ result following the installation of the solar PV system or a few simple measure; like a temperature thermostat on the hot water cylinder. Most buildings (domestic and commercial) pass without fuss.

So we need to be positive and extol the huge benefits of PV because we recognise that we have a great technology that has delivered astonishing cost reductions in recent months and years – and will continue to do so.

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