The Feed in Tariff Fiasco: A Timeline

Confusion, thy name is Feed-in-Tariff.  For anyone who's been blissfully unaware of the feed-in-tariff and the fiasco that currently surrounds it; I envy you.  For those that know of it but need clarity; read on.  For those that are unaware but intrigued; also read on.  For those that are sick to death of it, comment below.

The feed-in-tariff is a scheme designed to encourage people in the UK to generate electricity via their own means, through Solar Photovoltaics, Wind Turbines, Hydro-turbines or even Anaerobic Digestion (look it up).  In short, payments are made to micro-generators of electricity for each unit they produce.  There is a tariff of rates set by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), pricing the units according to the type and size of installation.

In the UK the baseline tariff for Solar PV was set at 43.3p per unit, almost 4 times the market rate for electricity.  This high subsidy, along with falling material and installation costs caused a boom in installations that the UK Government tried to dampen by reducing the baseline tariff rate to 21p/unit after making an announcement at the end of October 2011.

Below is a timeline showing what happened next.

The FiT Fiasco: A Timeline on Prezi

All this means that as we stand Solar PV installers are able to sell and install PV systems before  3rd March 2012  based on the promise of at least 21p per unit for a fixed period of 25 years.  However, should the government lose their supreme court appeal (as is very likely) then this will be increased to 43.3p per unit once more for those systems installed, certified and registered with an FiT provider before 3rd March 2012.

Those commentators with a touch of cynicism in their blood may argue that the government know only too well that they will lose the appeal and are using the confusion caused by it to protect their budget in the short run, or even that the whole thing has been orchestrated from the start to reduce demand in PV until April 2012.

In the meantime the livelihoods of over 20,000 people are under threat as suppliers, installers and potential customers have no idea what level of subsidy will be paid for systems installed between 12/12/11 and 03/03/12.

Are you interested in Solar PV but off-put by the market uncertainty?  Perhaps you agree with the government's tactics, or beleive they have a genuine case. Whatever your thoughts, please feel free to tap them through your keyboard and into the box below.

4 ways we saved 40% on our client's utility bills

Last year we blogged to report the work we had carried out for our clients CCC in Bristol, there have been some significant results since that time showing that their investment has been a real success. The work undertaken can be split into 4 main areas.

1. Reduced heat loss and stresses on the heating system by;

• Insulating the front facing void beneath the ground floor, and,
• Draft proofing the timber doors

    2.   Improved gas efficiency with;

• A replacement, highly efficient, Viessman gas boiler,
• A new external weather compensation unit, and,
• Thermostatic radiator valves installed to each of the building's radiators.

    3.   Reduced solar gain via;

• The installation of window film to the South facing windows and and roof lights.

    4.   Reduced electricity consumption by;

• Replacing a number of the high energy light fittings and lamps with low energy alternatives, and,
• Installing a V-Phase unit to optimise voltage.

The below table shows how in the 4th quarter of 2011, these services had a huge affect on the money spent by CCC on gas and electricity in comparison to the same period in 2010.

So looking back at our predictions for CCC in the original blogpost:

"We estimate that the result of our installations will be an annual saving of 30% on CCC's electricity bills and 40% on their gas bills. With energy bills set to rise significantly in the near future, these savings will be further exaggerated - allowing CCC to benefit from a annually rising return on the investment they have made in their property.  We expect to see a reduction in the company's annual carbon output of over 4 tonnes."

Whilst the electricity savings have not been as pronounced as we would have liked, the quarter represents a period where lighting would be used more extensively than in other parts of the year, similarly the gas savings are somewhat enhanced by the milder weather of December 2011 - but that only accounts for one part of the quarterly saving.  Most staggeringly we have reduced the annual CO2 footprint of the building by nearly 5 tonnes, smashing our yearly estimate.

All in all it is a fantastic result for Norman Envrionmental and CCC who have written to us to tell us what a "a very worthwhile exercise both environmentally and economically" the project has been for them.  We will continue to monitor and report on the results in this blog.

So if you think that your home or business premises could benefit from an energy survey, then get in touch via email, visit our website, or just comment below.