UK investors urged to act quickly before 23% drop in solar Feed-in Tariffs
Both homeowners and investors alike, interested in installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to UK rooftops should act quickly to take advantage of the higher government-backed Feed-in Tariff (FiT) before it is slashed by 23% at the end of July 2012.
As of the beginning of August the tariff for PV units under 5kW drops considerably from the current 21p/kWh to 16p/kWh and the length of this fixed incentive will fall from 25 to 20 years. This latest change will be the third to affect FiT’s in little over a year with the new rate of 16p/kWh less than half the amount paid to households when the FiT was first introduced in 2011.
Commenting on the impending FiT drop, Marcus Vassiliou, Sales & Marketing Manager of alternative investment company, EcoInvestments, says,
“As the deadline approaches, there is indeed pressure to install PV panels quickly in order to secure the higher FiT rate but even with just a few weeks to go, investors shouldn’t feel that they have missed the boat. We have in place, a number of PV systems already installed in prime locations across Devon and Cornwall, the sunniest parts of the UK and investors can fully expect to still enjoy net returns starting at a healthy 9.5%, fixed to rise with inflation over the next 25 years.”
Despite the planned FiT cut, appetite within the UK for solar panel installations remains on the rise according to The Solar Trade Organisation. In the week ending 3rd June 2012, some 1,788 solar installations were completed according to provisional figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change and planning permission has just been granted for the UK’s largest solar farm covering some 125 acres of disused land in Oxfordshire which via 120,000 PV panels will generate 27MW of electricity, enough to power 6,500 homes.
As Marcus Vassiliou comments,
“The UK as a whole has been very responsive to government drives to increase renewable electricity production through solar PV panels. Investors can benefit from near double-digit regular returns from modest outlays, with the security of knowing their investment is pegged to inflation.”
With investment in solar PV panels available from £8,000 for a 4kW system, contact EcoInvestments today on + 44 (0) 20 3012 0306 or visit www.ecoinvestments.co.uk to find out how you can take advantage of the higher rate government-back FiT tariff before it is cut at the end of July.