Following the Feed-In Tariff changes announcement, there has been a feeling of uncertainty surrounding the renewable energy industry as many businesses are left without all the facts, and providers are unsure of how to comment on what can only be described as ‘the elephant in the room’ for renewable technologies.
It’s surprising that even with the undeniable benefits of renewable technologies and their increasing popularity in the past few years, that the worth of an investment in Solar power is being called into question.
Here are 7 of the biggest myths that you will hear:
1. It isn’t worth installing solar now
The reason the Feed-In Tariff was introduced in the first place by the Government was to encourage people to invest in solar at a time when it was expensive. The goal was to increase sales of solar, and in turn, reduce prices to help the UK work towards achieving their goals of generating more energy for renewable sources.
The original tariffs did their job of driving sales and reducing costs. Therefore, the government wound back their tariffs over time.
The change in tariff doesn’t have an impact on the benefits of renewable energy, your electricity prices will still be reduced, you will still be helping the environment meeting your CSR goals and you are still being paid by the Government for the electricity you generate as well as being paid for any electricity you don’t use and export to the National grid and also,, because you Generate it, receiving the electricity you use on site for free.
2. Systems are more expensive
Following the introduction of the Feed-In Tariff, renewable energy has become more popular and therefore as more people buy solar, the cost to manufacture the systems have become cheaper. The improving technology has also significantly reduced prices and now, the average system prices are lower than they’ve ever been before.
We have been supplying and installing solar power systems for over 6 years and know from experience that prices are continually falling.
In the last 12 months for example, the price of a 50kw roof mounted system, has fallen by around 16%.
3. Your electricity bill isn’t enough to justify solar anymore
No matter if your electricity bill is high or low, you’ll still have the same benefits from installing solar or any form of renewable technology. Your bills will be dramatically reduced by using renewable technology, and you’ll be protected from the future rises in electricity costs. As an example, installing a 50kw system today fixes your electricity price at 5p/kWh for 20 years.
Aside from bills, think about what a renewable energy investment would do for your business – you’ll be working towards meeting your ‘green goals’ and it will help to enhance the image of your brand.
4. Payback time has dramatically increased
It might be true that with the reduction in FiT, payback time for renewable energy has increased, but only slightly. As the cost of equipment production continues to fall, so will the payback time for an installation.
Plus, as an average, the payback time for solar would now be 7.5 years, which means that you’ll benefit from the FiT and essentially ‘free’ electricity for 12.5 years after the payback period has finished.
5. This time next year the FiT will be gone
This statement is completely untrue.
The DECC have already released their forecast degression rates which take the FiT from the new level of 4.39p this quarter to 3.55p by Q1 of 2019. So while it is evident that the rates will continue to decline, it is worth keeping in mind that equipment costs are also expected to drop by as much as 40% in the next few years.
Interested in renewable energy?
Hopefully reading this blog will have put all your misconceptions about the Feed-In Tariff to bed and you’re now equipped with what you need to make your decision on renewable energy. If you’d like to learn how we have helped our clients with renewable energy, you should download our case study pack below.
