1. Government delays next wave of solar PV FIT cuts to August 1

    May 24, 2012

    Climate Change Minister Greg Barker has today confirmed the next wave of cuts
    to solar feed-in tariff incentives will come into effect from August 1, cutting
    payments for small scale installations from 21p/kWh to 16p/kWh.

    In a statement in the House of Commons accompanied by the release of the government’s response to its most recent consultation on the
    feed-in tariff incentive scheme, Barker said the government had finalised
    reforms to the scheme that would provide the industry with “TLC: transparency,
    longevity, and certainty”.

    He also underlined the government’s long term commitment to the sector,
    confirming that solar technologies will be added to the UK’s Renewables Roadmap,
    announcing the formation of a dedicated PV Cost Reduction Task Force, committing
    to the development of a new Solar Enterprise Strategy, and trailing the launch
    of a new solar technology centre in Cornwall.

    The confirmed cuts are at the lower end of the range originally proposed by
    ministers and will mean that incentives for installations with under 4kW of
    capacity will fall by around 24 per cent. However, the period for which
    businesses and households will receive payments from the feed-in tariff has been
    reduced from 25 to 20 years.

    Cuts to larger scale installations were also at the lower end of those
    proposed by ministers in the consultation in February, with the Department of
    Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirming that 10-50kW installations will
    receive 13.5p/kWh, 50-150kW sites will get 11.5p/kWh, and 150-250kW will receive
    11p/kWh.

    In addition, the rules regarding multiple installations such as social
    housing projects have been relaxed so that they will receive 90 per cent of the
    standard tariff rate as opposed to the 80 per cent originally proposed.

    Moreover, the export tariff for installations exporting energy to the grid
    will be increased from 3.2p/kWh to 4.5p/kWh.

    Significantly, Barker also announced a new mechanism for reducing feed-in
    tariff that gives the government an option to cut the tariff every three months
    from November, based on the level of deployment in the preceeding months.

    Category: News

  2. FiT reductions postponed

    May 17, 2012
    Energy and climate change secretary Greg Barker has confirmed the government is planning to delays proposed cuts to Feed-in Tariffs in July.
    The Solar Trade Association said this week that total installed capacity for the past four weeks was 17.4MW, against a four-weekly average of 71MW over the past year.
    Further cuts were set to come into effect on 1 July after the protracted legal battle over cuts to FiTs announced in December were followed by new rates in April.
    Energy and climate change secretary Greg Barker said on Twitter: “Having listened carefully to industry, we are looking at scope for pushing back a little the next proposed reduction in the solar tariffs.”
    Responding to claims there would be more industry uncertainty, he added: “On the contrary,we are listening carefully to industry & full details of new much improved FITs regime will be published v shortly.”

    Category: News

  3. Renewable Heat Premium Payment – Phase 2

    May 2, 2012

     The Renewable Heat Premium Payment is designed to help towards meeting the costs of installing renewable technologies in your home. If you’ve read about the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), you may already be aware that the Renewable Heat Premium Payment is a different scheme to provide one-off grants prior to the introduction of the RHI for domestic customers.

    What is the Renewable Heat Premium Payment?
    This is a UK Government scheme designed to help you afford renewable technologies for your home, such as:

    Solar thermal panels
    Heat pumps ( air to water, ground source or water source but excluding air to air and exhaust air heat pumps), and
    Biomass boilers
    The amount received as part of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme depends on which technology you are applying for. The voucher values for each of the technologies are listed below:

    Technology  Voucher Value 
    Solar Thermal Hot Water  £300  
    Air-to-Water Heat Pump  £850 
    Ground-Source or Water-Source Heat Pump  £1250 
    Biomass boiler  £950 

    The Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme – Phase 2 will run from 1st May 2012 to 31st March 2013, subject to available funding.

    Who can apply for the Renewable Heat Premium Payment?
    If you live in England, Scotland or Wales and your installation did not receive funding under RHPP Phase 1 you are eligible to apply for the Renewable Heat Premium Payment.

    How you currently heat your home will depend on which technologies you are able to apply for.

    Those who have recently removed a mains gas heating system or currently heat their home with mains gas are only eligible to apply for Solar Thermal.

    However, if you currently rely on oil, liquid gas, solid fuel or electricity then you could also apply for air-to-water heat pumps, ground-source or water-source heat pumps and biomass boilers.

    If you have any further questions about whether you can apply, please feel free to give one of our Advisors a call on 0800 512 012.

    What do you have to do before applying?
    1. The property must be owned by you and continue to be owned by you for the duration of the metering and survey requirements or if you are a tenant you must be purchasing the system yourself and have permission from the owner of the property;
    2. If the property is a new build, then you must retain ownership of the property either as the occupier or as the Private Landlord.  Please note applications from installers, builder/developers or householders in relation to “off-plan” developments, are not eligible for support under this scheme;
    3. Property must have loft insulation to 250mm and cavity wall insulation (where practical);
    4. You should have all necessary planning and environmental permissions in place;
    5. The product and installer you go with must be certified under the  Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) or Solar Keymark (or equivalent).
    It is important you understand the full eligibility criteria before applying and read the Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme FAQs. If you have any further questions, please e-mail these to RHPremium@est.org.uk.

    The main difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2 – (HEAT PUMPS ONLY)
    In order to help increase the rate of meter installation relative to Phase 1, a small change will be made to the voucher payment process. For heat pump installations, all householders will receive 80% of their voucher value when a valid claim is submitted, together with a signed checklist from the installer confirming whether or not the installation can be fitted with a meter. A copy of the ‘Installer Checklist’ can be found here. Householders will receive the final 20% following a visit from the metering team to check that the installation is really ‘meter ready’ and install a set of equipment, or if their installer has been trained to install monitoring equipment and installs it on EST’s behalf.  If a householder has indicated that they are not meter ready, they will receive the final 20% of the grant at the end of the scheme.

    Installations of biomass boilers and solar thermal panels are not affected by this change.

    It is important you understand the full eligibility criteria before applying and read the Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme FAQs. If you have any further questions, please e-mail these to RHPremium@est.org.uk.

    As the applicant it is your responsibility to ensure that all information supplied at application and claim stage is accurate and complete. Any information that you provided to the Energy Saving Trust that is subsequently found to be untrue, inaccurate or incomplete may affect your ability to claim your rebate. Accordingly, applications should not be submitted by your installer.

    Metering and Surveys
    The metering equipment provides live data to the Department of Energy and Climate Change to enable them to evaluate the performance of heat pumps. This is ground-breaking research. The results will be used to inform heat pump technology developments and future government policy. The Energy Saving Trust has commissioned the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to coordinate the monitoring programme. In addition to this, as a mandatory requirement for the Renewable Heat Premium Payment, you will be asked to submit information about how the technology you have installed is performing in its environment via online surveys. This is to support the monitoring programme and allow the Government to learn as much as possible about renewable technologies.

    It is a condition of the grant that you participate fully with the survey and metering programmes. Refusal to do so will result in your grant being withdrawn or reclaimed.

    Preparation checklist
    Check the technology is suitable for your home. Try our Home Energy Generation Selector tool which will identify the most suitable technologies for your home
    Ensure you have all the basic energy efficiency measures installed in your home (cavity and loft installation)
    Investigate all the various renewable technologies on offer and call our advice line on: 0800 512 012 for more advice and information
    Try getting a minimum of three quotes from MCS certified installers or Solar Keymark (or equivalent).
    Check planning permission (particularly for Air Source Heat Pumps)
    Other considerations
    No vouchers will be valid beyond 31st March 2013 but the expiry date on your voucher may be earlier than this.
    Please note, the offer is cash limiting. Once the budget for the scheme is reached we will no longer be able to accept applications.
    ( taken from Energy Saving Trust website http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Financial-incentives/Renewable-Heat-Premium-Payment-Phase-2#3 )

    Category: News

  4. Free PV Panels May Cause Mortgage Problems

    May 1, 2012

    Homebuyers are being refused mortgages due to ‘free’ solar panels (but  this does not apply if PV installation has been paid for by owner)

    Published 23 April 2012
    RICS is urging caution to potential buyers looking at properties with ‘free’ PV panels, as it may lead to their mortgage application being declined.
    At a time when many prospective buyers are struggling to secure the necessary finance to purchase a new home, they are hitting further difficulties with banks and building societies refusing to lend on properties with roofs leased for the use of ‘free’ PV panels.
    These panels are installed by solar companies for free who then sell any extra energy generated back to the grid under the Government’s Feed-in Tariff (TIF) subsidy. These schemes are usually based on leases of 25-years for use of the roof space, which requires the prior approval of the mortgage lender, which many lenders are refusing to give.
    David Dalby, Director of Residential at RICS said:
    “We fully support the use and production of sustainable energy; however, at a time when prospective buyers are finding it tough to secure mortgages ‘free’ solar panels can cause a further barrier to homeownership. An inflexible PV panel lease, without a buy-out clause, could result in a failed transaction.
    “We are advising our members to inform homebuyers of these issues and strongly urge anyone looking to make an offer on a property with ‘free’ PV panels to seek legal advice and consult their mortgage lender beforehand.”
    Buyers are more likely to be granted a mortgage on schemes complying with the Council of Mortgage Lenders guidance, where necessary consents have been achieved and the PV panels installed to an accredited standard and maintained.
    However, even compliant schemes may reach difficulties as most mortgage lenders have their own specific requirements due to the lack of regulation and standardisation in roof lease contracts, with most lenders assessing on a case by case basis.
    Where a mortgage lender does refuse the mortgage on the basis of the roof-lease, the best case scenario is for the solar company to offer a ‘buy-out’ option to the prospective buyer who can purchase the installation at the price stated in the original lease agreement, less depreciation.
    However, this can be very costly for the new owner who may already be pushing their finances to the limit with the property purchase.
    In the worst case scenario, the installation company could refuse to sell the installation to the new homeowner and seek to charge them for removing the panels and the loss of income from the feed-in tariff, effectively prohibiting the sale of the property.
    For more information:
    Nathanael Moyers
    RICS Senior Press Officer

    Category: News