1 - January FIT Rates Now Apply – After a long and drawn out consultation process the government has released its plans for the future of the Feed in Tariff. The consultation, which ran from 27 August to 23 October, originally set out to cut the feed-in tariff rates by as much as 87%, enact quarterly installation capacity caps and ultimately withdraw subsidy support on 1 January 2019.
It received more than 55,000 responses and was widely condemned by the industry, the general public and politicians alike.
The announced rates are not as severe as expected, here at CTS Renewables we are confident that Solar PV can still be an attractive proposition to electricity consumers.
The new rates are as follows:
0-10kW - 4.39p
10-50kW - 4.59p
50-250kW - 2.70p
250kW-1000kW - 2.27p
>1MW - 0.87p
Stand alone - 0.87p
The full consultation response also sets out how the new rates - based upon offering a return of 4.8% - are to be introduced.
Due to the Christmas recess the changes do not come into effect until 8 February 2016. In order to protect the new budget allocation of £100 million, DECC has elected to enact a four-week pause on new feed-in tariff installations which will run from 15 January to 8 February 2016.
Any installation made between those dates will not be eligible for the previous rates and will receive the new 4.39p rate from 8 February onward. The first rate will run from 8 February to 31 March, after which digressions will begin to occur.
Also included in the response are details of deployment caps. The government states that it considered these to be the “most robust” method of cost control and that a total spend of £100 million per year from April 2019 to be an “appropriate” allocation. As a result, the below caps on deployment will be put into place on a quarterly basis.
A queuing system is to be introduced, meaning that if a particular cap is reached then all new installations will be placed in a queue for when the next cap opens. There is no guarantee that these installations will received FiT payments until they are registered under the following cap, nor is there a guarantee on which the rate they will receive.
There is however a “rollover” clause which means that any unused capacity from a particular deployment cap will be added on top of the next quarter. Clause 1.42 of the response also includes mention of a “budget reconciliation” which could open the door for a possible revisit of the rates on offer should deployment nose dive and it appear that the £100 million budget would not be utilized in full.
2 – 4kw PV System from £3,999 - CTS Renewables has been able to secure package deals with the UK’s largest PV wholesaler and are able to offer a 16 panel 4kw system onto a single aspect for as little as £3,999. For a house in Derby with a south facing roof using 50% of the electricity generated, it could mean a break even point of just over 6 years based on the new FIT rates. Also available is 4kW system using the all black Canadian Solar 265 panels for a fantastic price of £4,499.
These systems include a 10 year insurance backed warranty, VAT, scaffolding all fully fitted by our own installation teams. Smaller system sizes are available. Please contact the office for further details.
5 – Battery Backup – The battery backup market is moving apace, new products are being released all the time. Customer interest is at an all time high, people want to take full advantage of the Solar Electricity that is being generated and be "Off Grid" as much as possible.
CTS Renewables are particularly excited about the new Tesla Powerwall system which works alongside solaredge inverters. The Powerwall has all the hallmarks of a great product with great storage capacity, pricing and longevity. We expect this solution to become available in the next few weeks.
In addition solutions from Samsung, LG and SMA are beginning to become available. Over the next few weeks CTS Renewables staff are undertaking a range of manufacturer training programs to allow us to offer comprehensive and informed range of battery back-up solutions for our customers.
4 – Solar Thermal Deals – With much of the limelight over the years on Solar PV, Solar Thermal systems have seen a marked reduction in their popularity. That however, appears to be changing. In the last six months CTS Renewables has installed as many solar thermal systems than we have done in the previous four years. We attribute this partially to significant reductions in installation costs, partially to the introduction of the domestic RHI scheme, but mainly we find that our sales come from our satisfied Solar PV, Biomass and Heat Pump Customers who are looking to add to their energy saving portfolio of products.
Solar Thermal Panels are a great addition to any property with a non-combi boiler based heating system as they can reliably provide domestic hot water over the summer months, enabling customers to reduce running times for their boilers over these months and also supplement hot water generation in the colder months. For those customers already accessing the domestic RHI for their Biomass or Heat Pump systems, you are still able to access the RHI for solar thermal in addition to your current RHI payments. The same can be said for Feed in Tariff payments.
In addition a significant proportion of our installations are fitted to properties with Solar PV and Immersun/Iboost systems. These technologies can complement each other as the solar thermal preheats the incoming cold water before it reaches the immersion heater element. The combination of the two technologies mean that you are able to greatly extend the days of the year for which the sun can heat your hot water. The average amount of roof space required for solar thermal is 1m² per person and a solar thermal compatible hot water cylinder will need to be in place or installed by our plumbers.
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, more information on our products and services can be found at www.ctsrenewables.co.uk, or you can call our office on 01623 422254.
Kind Regards
Matthew Baxter
Sales & Marketing Director
