Following the uncertainty caused by changes in the Feed in Tariff scheme in 2012 it is good to see the latest figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Solar panels
(image credit: hsivonen)
January is traditionally a quiet month but figures show that 1,528 solar panel installations were undertaken in the week ending 20th January 2013, a slight increase on the previous week when there were 1,507 installations. Of theses installations, 96% were fitted to residential properties so were smaller installations as opposed to large solar arrays on things like solar farms.
The Feed in Tariff scheme has been significantly reduced since December 2011 from 43p per kilowatt-hour over a 25-year period to 15.44p per kilowatt-hour over a 20-year period. This is a reduction of almost 66% although this can be topped up by the Export Tariff of 4.5p per kilowatt-hour.
However, on the other side of the equation, the installation costs of solar panels has reduced significantly. In the past two years they have dropped by about 50%.
Ebico are a non-profit making energy group. They have worked out that an investment in solar panels can produce an investment return of as much as 7% which, when compared with the current savings markets, is a good return. They estimate that it will take around 14 years for the income generated by solar panels to cover the cost of installing them and that for the next 6 years homeowners would receive an additional £3,000 per annum.
Furthermore, the Energy Saving Trust, that is a not-for-profit organisation, says that those homeowners will also make an average saving on their energy bills of £237 per annum.
Although this is good news, we have previously commented on a number of solar panel companies that are suing the Government for about £140 million due to the changes in the Feed in Tariff scheme in 2012.
We shall continue to monitor the figures produced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
