Latest News
Solar tariff cuts - consumer commitment to renewable energy solutions and local jobs can be safeguarded
31 October 2011
Today’s Government announcement that the feed-in tariff for solar power is to be cut in half from 12 December this year will have significant implications for solar panel makers, installers and consumers looking to invest in the renewables market.
East Anglia’s leading supplier and installer of PV systems and wind turbines, Mosscliff Environmental Ltd, greeted the news with concern and consideration. The company which has recently relocated to a significantly larger site in Horham near Stradbroke has grown to employ a 25-strong, skilled and local workforce since it was established in 2007.
“The announcement today will certainly be a blow to the industry as a whole,” comments David Wyllie, a chartered environmental engineer and founding director of Mosscliff Environmental, “but we must look at the bigger picture. The generosity of the feed-in tariffs has made solar PV an all-round outstanding investment over the last 18 months, but when the tariffs drop to 21p per unit, we are expecting the cost of the equipment to drop too. With lower capital outlay on installation, the return on investment will still be a significant improvement on what it was 18 months ago, with system payback over a period very similar to what it is now.”
Mosscliff Environmental will be working extremely conscientiously and to its regular exacting standards to ensure that clients across East Anglia who have already signed up to a PV system have their installations completed and registered before the current FITs rate cut-off date.
“The lead times to the change in the FITs tariffs is clearly shorter than the industry might have hoped,” explains qualified mechanical engineer and Mosscliff Co-director, Andrew McLintock. ”Our teams of qualified site engineers are very professional and they will undoubtedly rise with us to the challenge of the weeks ahead. We have every confidence in our ability to sustain consumer interest in our renewable energy portfolio over the months to come and at this stage would not anticipate any need to be cutting back our workforce in the foreseeable future.”
November 2010
Guarantee the best paybacks for the next 25 years - purchase your PV system before April 2012.
Payments to new generating installations through the Government Feed-In Tariff system are set to drop every year after 2012.
All eligible installations fitted before April 2012 are guaranteed the highest possible unit price for every unit of electricity generated by your solar PV system for the life time of the system ( set at 25 years). Currently for a PV system up to 4kW, this stands at 41.3p/ kWh. The Government has ensured that the Generation Tariff will track inflation, ensuring a fair price year on year.
From April 2012, the Generation Tariff will drop by 8.5% every year, so waiting until 2015 for example will reduce your per unit potential payout per unit from 41.3p/kWh to only 28.9p/kWh and installing a new system in 2020 will only achieve a 18.6p/kWh pay-out.
For a free site survey and detailed quote for your solar PV requirements, please contact us>>