It is not often that decisions taken at a national level have an immediate impact on people living in a small village like Dry Drayton. But at the end of October, the Government announced that it plans to reduce the feed in tariff payment for new installations of PV (photo-voltaic) panels from 43.3p for each kWh generated to 21p, with effect for schemes completed and notified on or after 12th December 2011. A cut had been expected from April 2012, but the bringing forward of the date and the large cut in FiTs reduces the attractions of new investments in PV and undermines the viability of the firms delivering such schemes until the price of the panels comes down significantly further.
We understand that the eCoton group and their contractors Upbeat Energy are still working towards completing the installations that were quoted for in October. But there are a number of other contractors cold calling in Dry Drayton who are seeking new PV contracts and claiming that they can install and complete before 12th December. Anyone considering a new installation should check out thoroughly the contractor’s ability to fulfill any such claim. In fact, even with the lower FiT rate, the expected return of 4.5-5.0% plus is competitive in current conditions, but it is clearly not as obviously interesting as previously. It is important to note that existing installations, already registered for FiTs, are not affected by the change.
