Solar panels are increasingly part of our urban and rural landscapes, but many are finding the financing reasons for installing these eco-energy providers more enticing that the environmental ones.
The Government's "Clean Energy Cash Back" scheme starting next month will help people move away from conventional fossil fuels to greener energies. Home owners with their own renewable power source can receive money for every unit of energy they generate. If you don't produce enough power for your needs, you can still draw on the grid for a boost, but if you produce more than you require, you can sell it back at a guaranteed rate.
Along with these savings, the new plan will see them receive between 29.3p/kWh and 41.3p/kWh, which could deliver a tax-free annual income of nearly £1,000, regardless of whether the energy is used or exported back to the grid. Any energy they do export will gain them a further 3p/kWh.
And it's not just PVs that will benefit from April. In all, there are five types of green energies that are eligible, all offering at least 10 years of fixed tariffs for their owners. And if you have more than one system – solar and wind, say – you'll be metered separately and gain on both.
But many potential customers will still find the upfront costs beyond their budget. Help is in the pipeline, though, as the Government backs up its figures with a parallel scheme of "green loans" that will be attached to the house rather than the person who took it out.
One such urbanite gre who's already signed up is Ismail Patel, who owns a house in Yorkshire. He has 10 panels on his roof, which generate more than two-thirds of his annual electricity. "The panels have been a fantastic investment," Ismail says. "The system works as easily as it did when we were using mains electricity."
Donnachadh McCarthy, who runs the environmental consultancy 3 Acorns Eco-Audits, has been campaigning for more than a decade for the government to introduce feed-in tariffs into the UK. He installed a solar electric system into his London home 13 years ago and has some tips for people wanting to benefit from the new tariffs.
"When installing a system, really try and get every extra panel you can, as a major part of the cost is the actual installation," says McCarthy.
Solar Power Will Begin To Pay For Itself
