Solar electricity now a reality for homeowners
Solarcentury, the UK's leading solar energy company, today welcomes the announcement of the Government’s new Feed-in tariff for clean electricity. Heralding a new era for home generation of clean, renewable energy, this scheme will make solar electricity a viable option for UK homeowners.
Jeremy Leggett, Executive Chairman of Solarcentury says: “Home energy generation and associated jobs have been given a huge boost today. The Government's financial incentives for homes, communities and businesses to generate clean electricity marks the start of a solar revolution in the UK. For the UK to reach its carbon reduction targets, people have to be given the opportunity to generate their electricity in a rewarding and accessible way, this makes it possible.”
The new scheme will enable homeowners producing solar electricity to earn income from energy generation, benefit from significant savings on electricity bills and cut domestic carbon emissions. Solarcentury estimates that homeowners can save and earn over £1,000 per year for 25 years, increasing with inflation, with a typical solar electric system.(1)
Home energy generation with a typical solar system can generate more than half an average home’s electricity consumption (2), which means it will provide protection against the unstable energy market. Unlike most other long-term investments the income from the solar electricity produced is also guaranteed and tax-free. This means that solar electricity compares favourably to savings and pensions investments, where the economic crisis has resulted in low returns.(3)
The scheme will also encourage businesses to go solar and enable the rapid growth of solar jobs in the roofing and wider construction sector, as hundreds of businesses trained to install solar will see new opportunities up and down the country. This massive potential could total thousands of new jobs by 2013.
-ENDS-
Contact:
Katie McCrory / Cheryl Campsie, Forster
Katie@forster.co.uk / Cheryl@forster.co.uk
020 7403 2230
Notes to Editors
1.The annual income and savings breakdown is £878 for generated electricity, £32 for exported electricity and £138 for savings on electricity bills; totalling £1048 per year for the average home. Income and savings have been reached on assumption that a typical size solar PV system for a household would be a 2.5kWp system.
The income figure is based on the system generating 2,125 units (kilowatt hours (kWh)) of electricity a year, assuming that for every kWp of PV installed, you will generate 850 kWh a year, and applying the Government’s proposed generation tariff of 41.3p per unit generated on existing homes. The figure also assumes that on average you will consume 50% of the solar electricity in the property and export the remainder, and assuming a top up payment of 3p for each unit exported and energy savings of 13p per unit. This is a national average, which assumes a south facing pitch of 30 – 40 degrees, with no shading.
2. The Department of Energy and Climate Change states average three bed home electricity consumption in the UK at 3,300 kWh/year. http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/prices/prices.aspx
A 2.5kWp solar electric system is expected to generate 2,125 kWh/ year.
3. The average cost of a 2.5 kWp solar PV installation currently stands at £12,500. The payback period based on the income numbers above is estimated at ten years, equivalent to a return of 9% and income and savings of £36,000 over a 25 year period. Until April 2010, the Government is also offering a grant of £2,500 towards this cost, which improves payback and return further.
Full consultation document available on the website of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).