Latest on the court challenge!!!

[SRE]

Yep things are looking up for us - not sure about pricing but we were in the same boat this time last year and we've loads more experience now.

 

[finchy]

The DECC will keep everyone chasing their tail for a few weeks!
We published an advert in the local newspaper not even a whisper from it ! But on a good note got a referral from previous customer for a workshop 50 kWp system.....fingers crossed !

 

[Somecamel]

Yep things are looking up for us - not sure about pricing but we were in the same boat this time last year and we've loads more experience now.

Solar Essence quoting £12,558 for a 4kw Sanyo and £9,660 for a 4kw Kinve (never heard of them).

Will be checking the local companies as well.

Can easily beat the big boys anyway

 

[GoB2Bservices]

My problem with the Governments quick fix attitude to FIT's eaten away by increased profits due to falling PV prices is?

What happens when they fall again or worse still go the other way?

Impact of Solar PV Feed-in Tariff Changes | Cambridge Modelling

"Large fluctuations in the price of poly silicon in the past year (by more than 50%) have impacted significantly on solar PV module costs. In recent months, this trend has been favourable with technical improvements and reduced global demand leading to a general reduction in module prices. However, the sensitivity of poly silicon and PV module prices to market demand means that their contribution to recent large reductions in the cost of solar PV installations is subject to change. This has been illustrated in recent years where spikes in solar PV demand have caused temporary retardations in industry learning rates and significantly increased module costs 6.
Therefore, a longer-term view of solar PV cost reduction trends is required to
avoid aberrations produced by short-term fluctuations in global demand. The
amount by which FITs are periodically reduced needs to be based on long-term
trends (over a period of years) in solar PV installation costs to overcome short-term inconsistencies produced by temporary fluctuations in poly silicon and solar PV module prices. This recommendation is particularly relevant in the
context of the consultation on the Comprehensive Review and is worthy of
further consideration in this and later rounds of tariff reductions."

 

[moggy1968]

lets not also forget fluctuations in currency rates which will have a major impact on PV prices. The pound has become stronger over the last 18months or so against many currencies. We almost had parity with the euro a while back.

 

[Somecamel]

You couldn't make it up

After sitting in a hiatus looks likely that DECC will be granted leave to appeal...

Court of Appeal decision set for January 25 - Solar Power Portal

 

[moggy1968]

I like the way Barking tries to blame the solar industry for this!! I would suggest the cost of all the schemes installed after the deadline over their lifetime will still add up to less than the cost of this ridiculous appeal by him and his half witted cronies

 

[SolarCity]

I like the way Barking tries to blame the solar industry for this!!

I picked up on that too. I'd dearly love to burst that bubble that he resides in. Preferably by kicking his jaw bone clean off.

 

[moggy1968]

form a queue!

 

[The Launderer]

How many other installers agree that this continued legal battle is not helping anyone.

This looks like it might drag on for a few weeks yet and may well end up with a FIT of 43.3p for the lucky few who decided to install despite the uncertainty. Apart from that who else is going to benefit. Certainly not installers.

By the time this is settled it will be too late for any meaningful sales campaign to take advantage of the 43.3p.
A rate of 43.3p will reduce the overall pot (albeit with a smaller level of installs) and the government could kill off the industry if they cut FIT rate again from 1st April and/or stick rigidly to their EPC proposals.

I would call on FOE, Solar Century etc to look at the bigger picture. They already have the moral victory and they could not have envisaged the current circumstances and I am sure it was never their intention to cause harm to the solar industry.

They must have some negotiating power and could surely do a deal behind the scenes which would accept the 21p from 12th December but in return get a positive result on the EPC's and the FIT rate going forward from 1st April.

Surely a negotiated settlement means everyone saves face and we can get back to work again and look forward to a positive renewables energy future.

 

[moggy1968]

we're not just talking about 21p, if we can get EPCs abandoned this will have been worth it because otherwise, come April, there will be no solar industry left in this country

 

[sambotc]

Exactly what I suggested a week or so ago. There's no gain in this court case going on any further, at best? a couple of weeks of mayhem and egg on DECC's face, at worst a potential to ruffle the feathers of DECC to the point where they jack the whole lot in.

Like you said, the moral victory has been won, use that as ammo to get the industry and DECC to consult with each other on a more regular basis to prevent it from happening again.

 

[finchy]

I would really appreciate more clarification from HM Government about the ratings as my current LSEG scheme I'm pricing might be a jolly waste of time, how would a factory achieve C rating with lorries loading un-loading all day.

 

[Gavin A]

I doubt it's likely to apply to none domestic systems. IIRC there was a seperate question on the consultation about whether it should apply to non-domestic, and I can't see many arguing in favour of this... erm not that that usually stops them.

 

[mdovey]

we're not just talking about 21p, if we can get EPCs abandoned this will have been worth it because otherwise, come April, there will be no solar industry left in this country

I may be wrong (finding an actual transcript of the judgement seems impossible, and the various online reports are not entirely consistent), but I thought that the only issue being challenged in the court was the 12 December reference date. So regardless how the court case pans out we'll still see a 21p FIT come April, and the decision over EPC will depend on how DECC responds to arguments against it expressed during the consultation.