Worcester Renewables Ltd

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Author: Worcester Renewables (page 1 of 7)

Solar PV comes of age – Grid parity for solar photovoltaics in Spain today

With the drop in the supply price of solar panels, the cost of installations, a LOT more sun (than England) and the much higher electricity prices now means that an economic investment can be made in Solar PV without the need for Feed-in-Tariff or Renewable Energy Obligation support . Of course that is at the industrial scale! – In just one province – Murcia in South East Spain – they plan to install 2.5GW of solar PV – that’s 10 times more than they did in the last two years alone.

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Cost of Domestic Solar PV installations to rise by 15% – by EU Demand

Currently domestic installations of Energy Saving Materials and technologies  only attract the reduced rate of VAT at 5%.

However if Brussels Bureaucrats have their way then the cost of any energy saving measure to domestic customers will go up by 15% as they levy the full rate 20% VAT.

What does this mean?

Potentially two things,

1) it could kill the Governments’ Green Deal initiative before it has even started

and

2) It could be the final nail in the coffin of self funded domestic PV installations.

Below is the latest information from Brussels

VAT: Commission requests UK to amend its rules on reduced rates

The European Commission has asked the United Kingdom to amend its legislation which allows a reduced VAT rate for the supply and installation of "energy-saving materials". This measure goes beyond the scope allowed under the VAT Directive.

Under EU VAT rules, Member States can only apply reduced VAT rates to a limited number of goods and services, which are clearly listed in Annex III of the VAT Directive. This list does not include the supply and installation of "energy saving materials". Therefore, the UK’s application of a reduced rate in this area contravenes EU legislation.

The request takes the form of a Reasoned Opinion (the second stage of an infringement procedure). If the legislation is not brought into compliance within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Background

For press releases on infringement cases in the taxation or customs field see:

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/common/infringements/infringement_cases/index_en.htm

For more information on EU infringement procedures, see MEMO/12/464

For the latest general information on infringement measures against Member States see:

http://ec.europa.eu/eu_law/infringements/infringements_en.htm

 

and you can see the original here:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/676&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Feed-in Tariff tables from 1st August 2012 (until 1st November 2012)

 

Band (kW) Prior to August 1st
(Single Installation)
Standard generation tariff
(p/kWh)
Multi-installation tariff
(p/kWh)
Lower tariff
(if energy efficiency requirement not met)
(p/kWh)
Period of Tariff
(Years)
•4kW (new build)
21.0
16.0
14.4
7.1
20
•4kW (retrofit)
21.0
16.0
14.4
7.1
20
>4-10kW
16.8
14.5
13.05
7.1
20
>10-50kW
15.2
13.5
12.15
7.1
20
>50-100kW
12.9
11.5
10.35
7.1
20
>100-150kW
12.9
11.5
10.35
7.1
20
>150-250kW
12.9
11.0
9.9
7.1
20
>250kW-5MW
8.9
7.1
N/A
N/A
20
stand-alone
8.9
7.1
N/A
N/A
20
Export
3.2
4.5
4.5
4.5
20

So what does this mean to business and commercial installations?

It depends upon who you do business with.

Worcester Renewables buys direct from the manufacturers, and with 4 – 6 week lead times between purchase and delivery our prices are already determined for post 1st August, and whether your purchase before or after 1st August you will still see an ROI, index linked of 10% year on year.  However if you can install before the  1st August you will benefit from those payments for 25 years, as opposed to a reduced 20 years.

We also have funding available for a number of sites, so if you believe that you have a property that may be suitable for the installation of Solar PV, then just fill in the form below and we’ll get straight back to you:

DECC confirms FIT (Feed-in Tariff) changes to be 1st August

At the Ministerial announcement in the House of Commons today, Greg Barker laid out plans for the changes to the Feed-in Tariff to apply from the 1st August 2012

Changes to solar Feed-in Tariffs

Tariffs for solar pv installations to be reduced from 1 August:

  • 16p/kWh for household scale solar pv installations to reflect fall in cost of the technology, delivering a return of about 6% for a typical installation.
  • Tariffs for larger installations also to be reduced to reflect cost reductions but with most tariff cuts lower than proposed in February.
  • Reductions to apply to new installations from 1 August, instead of 1 July as proposed, in recognition of low uptake from 1 April and providing time for industry to adapt.

Multi installation tariff increased to 90% of standard tariff

  • Organisations with more than 25 solar pv installations will get 90% of the standard applicable tariff, increased from 80%, reflecting new evidence on costs involved for these projects.

Reduction in tariffs over time in line with uptake of FITs scheme

  • Ensuring solar PV is not over subsidised.
  • Average tariff reductions of 3.5% every 3 months, reductions will be bigger (up to 28%) if there is rapid uptake.
  • Tariff cuts will be skipped (for up to 2 quarters) if uptake is low.
  • Uptake in 3 different bands (domestic (size 0-10kW), small commercial (10-50kW) and large commercial (above 50kW and standalone installations) will determine the quarterly reductions within those bands.

Increase export tariff from 3.2p to 4.5p/kWh

  • To better reflect the real value of electricity exported to the grid.

RPI index-linking of generation tariffs to be retained

  • Reflecting the high value investors place on this element of the FITs scheme.

Scheme lifetime reduced from 25 to 20 years for new solar installations

  • Reducing the lifetime costs of the scheme and bring solar in line with most other technologies supported under FITs.

Tariffs for installations which do not meet the energy efficiency requirements will mirror the tariffs for standalone installations

  • Ensuring energy efficiency is still encouraged as tariffs are reduced.

Window opens for Businesses to benefit from Solar PV Feed-In Tariff as DECC delays cuts to FITs

In a bizarre move by DECC last night, Greg Barker, Minister for Climate Change tweeted “Having listened carefully to industry, we are looking at scope for pushing back a little the next proposed reduction in the #solar tariffs” he then followed that up this morning with another tweet “we are listening carefully to industry & full details of new much improved FITs regime will be published v shortly”

So what does it mean?

In simple terms DECC should have announced the details of the originally proposed cut to the Feed-In Tariff by Monday of this week in order to meet the regulatory timescales, they didn’t.  That means that the earliest any change to the Feed-In Tariff could be brought in is mid-July. In practice one of two things will happen, either it will simply be put back month, or more likely, they will keep it as it is and then introduce a slightly lower cut than planned in October, so missing out completely this interim cut.

i.e – You have another month to get your business approval to get the Solar PV installed, or maybe even another 3 months.

So what should you do NOW?

Simple get on with it, if you had plans for just one installation – do it NOW, we are already seeing pressures on some materials supplies as other parts of Europe also see FIT changes at the same time.  If you had been considering multiple schemes, get the finance put in place, and get the DNO applications in!

The Sweet Spot!

Right now, the way the Feed-In Tariff is structured, the best returns are for systems of 10kWp, 50kWp and 250kWp, that will change with the next review of FITs so don’t delay. To find out if you have premises suitable for installing a Solar PV system, it’s potential size and ROI, just give us a call on 01386 871490, and we’ll be able to quickly assess the potential for you with no obligation. – Speak Soon.

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