In recent weeks I have seen several proposals for ‘buying groups’ for residential solar energy installations in the UK. The principle is that rather than individuals from the same area each seeking an installer for their solar panels, a buying group involves a number of home-owners clubbing together and seeking a single installer to do all the installations in one go.

There are several benefits to this. The main reason is that it leverages economies of scale, meaning that you should be able to get an overall lower price because the installer is able to source equipment in larger quantities and utilise their staff better by working in a concentrated area. The second big benefit is in administration time. Choosing an installer for your solar installation is time-consuming. You need to get quotes from several firms, who should each give a site-visit before giving their final price. In a buying group, this process is minimised because you have one tender process for the whole group.

A nice thing about buying groups is the community organisation aspect. Installing solar panels is now very profitable, both financially and environmentally so working as a local group is a great way to bring the community together to do something real that makes a difference. So how do you go about setting up a buying group? The best way is to find a group of people that already have some sort of local connection. This could be something like a residents association, a sports club, a church group or even pub regulars. The important thing is to ensure that the process is clearly explained to potential participants. It is also possible to advertise locally, but make sure you are open about whether you plan to make money from doing the organising or not.

Once a reasonable number of people have expressed an interest (I would say 5 or more counts as reasonable but this is not fixed), the group organisers can start to contact installation firms. Make sure to get full quotes and make these available to all participants to make the process as open as possible. It may even be worthwhile inviting the installer to a group meeting in order to give their ‘pitch’ so that everyone can compare the offers.

Something to be aware of is that there are a growing number of people already organising local buying groups.  Some of these groups are people doing it out of their own time because of their passion for the community and renewable energy. Other groups however, are trying to make significant amounts of money from being a middle man.

I have seen more than one proposal from buying groups looking to take ten percent of the cost of an installation as commission. This strikes me as a bit unfair since the idea of the buying group is to lower costs for the members.

Organizing a buying group takes a considerable amount of time, and so taking some money is acceptable. Personally, what I don’t like is people pretending to be doing the community a service but actually using it as an easy way to make some quick cash. Ten percent is also a bit steep. The idea of the buying group is to lower costs for everyone, this clearly doesn’t work if all the saved costs are going straight to the organisers of the buying group.

So genuine buying groups are a great idea, just beware the profiteers. If someone approaches you as a buying group be sure to find out how much money they stand to make.

A survey carried out by the Solar Trade Association (STA) has reported a massive drop in sales in solar panels in the last few months. The STA, a body which represents photovoltaic installers, manufacturers and suppliers has stated that since the arrival in office of David Cameron’s Conservative government business has dropped off considerably.

Paying particular attention to solar thermal installers, the STA findings have shown that since early May around 50per cent of these installers have reported a 75 per cent reduction in new business, figures which are likely to have resonance across the renewable energy sectors.

Spending cutbacks have been the prominent feature of the new coalition government and these spending cuts have certainly been felt in the solar energy industry according to the STA’s findings. Concepts such as the ‘Green New Deal’ are also being harmed with a sharp fall in green jobs across the country. Indeed, the STA report found that 65 per cent of its members were considering leaving the industry temporarily during these hard times with 7 per cent considering leaving permanently.

Chairman of the STA, Howard Johns said,

“We have a new Government which claims to be the greenest Government ever, yet in its first days it has caused severe setbacks in what is otherwise a buoyant sector. Removing grant support for solar thermal and giving no clarity on new incentives has severely hit a sector that will provide many green jobs and lots of renewable energy with the right support behind it.”

The withdrawal of certain schemes for solar thermal such as Renewable Heat Incentives and the Low Carbon Building program grants have been in stark contrast to solar PV where feed-in tariffs have seen investment and installation go from strength to strength. First introduced under the guise of the Clean Energy Cash back scheme, it highlights exactly how crucial government incentive schemes are in kick starting renewable energy take up in the UK.

Announcements on earlier this month that the Spanish government was to reduce spending in another sector of the Spanish economy would hardly have made for happy reading on the pages of El Pais and El Mundo. Nevertheless the news was that huge spending cut backs would be made on solar energy with tariffs designed to attract uptake with reductions of up to 45 per cent.

Draft proposals from the Ministry of Industry announced that spending cuts would reflect those seen on feed-in tariffs in Germany and Italy where the tightening of purse strings has necessitated the removal of what are seen as non-essential expenses.

Indeed, Spain will be reducing tariff payments for roof-based systems by up to 25 per cent but for large ground based solar installations a much more eye watering 45 per cent, news not likely to impress installers or investors.

Feed-in tariffs work by offering producers of renewable energy fixed, premium rates for the energy they both use and feed back into the grid. The energy firms are obliged by legislation to purchase the renewable energy at the premium rates the costs of which are spread across Spanish energy consumers. The Spanish government has therefore been able to justify cut backs explaining that they are a means of controlling rising Spanish Energy Bills.

The problems of course is that while consumers may make some savings on their monthly electricity bills, cut backs at this period could cause serious long term harm to an area of the Spanish economy which has been booming over the last decade.

With news this week that growth of the UK solar market has finally over taken that of Spain, it highlights once again the essentiality of tariff mechanisms as a way of creating long term attractiveness for investors in the face of struggling economies.

Below is an article written on African P.V kindly written by one of our readers.

Renewable energy technologies (RETs) provide attractive environmentally sound technology options for Africa ’s telecom and electricity industry. 

RETs could offset a significant proportion of foreign exchange that is used for importing oil for electricity generation in most countries.

GAZTEC WEST AFRICA solar products provide highly reliable remote power for distributed telecommunication applications.

Africa ‘s renewable energy potential is well-known. The problem is that it’s mostly well-known to people living outside the continent, therefore increasing awareness of renewable energy technology among the African people is vital.

We believe strongly that Africa , which has remained at the bottom of the Human Development Index for centuries, will make a radical turn for the best when our world distinctly enters the Solar Age. The continent will be propelled into the First World by her comparative advantage in the supra-abundance of Solar Energy.

GAZTEC WEST AFRICA solutions provide a competitive alternative to pure diesel systems that are increasingly under cost pressures due to rising fossil fuel costs, frequent servicing requirements and problems associated with increasing CO2 emissions. Our solar energy systems are containerized and rapidly deployable. Most telecommunications applications involve HYBRID SYSTEMS. Depending on the application, the systems can be configured with a mix of solar, wind, battery, fuel cell, diesel and other power sources.

Our MOBILE SYSTEMS can be transported by air, sea or road and are fitted with extensive SunEnergy remote monitoring and control features. Traditional biomass energy use has serious environmental drawbacks. The
indoor air pollution from unvented biofuel cooking stoves is a major contributor to respiratory illnesses in highland areas of sub-Saharan Africa .

The renewable energy resource potential in Africa has not been fully exploited, mainly due to the limited policy interest and investment levels.

In addition, The second important development that has increased interest in renewables in the region is the recurrent crises faced by most power utilities in the region. For example, in year 2000 alone, Ethiopia Kenya, Malawi , Nigeria and Tanzania , Ivory Coast 2010 faced unprecedented power rationing which adversely affected their economies. The rapid development of renewables is often mentioned as an important response option for addressing the power problems faced by the region.

Target  Markets are:

At the community level: vaccine refrigeration, water pumping, purification and rural electrification. On the industrial scale, solar energy is used for pre-heating boiler water for industrial use and power generation,detoxification, municipal water heating, telecommunications, and, more recently, transportation (solar cars) one of the main obstacle to implementing renewable energy projects is often not the technical feasibility of these projects but the absence of low-cost, long-term financing

Governments and developments banks ,private enterprises must therefore seek creative ways of financing RETs projects. The challenge of financing projects for RETs is to develop models that can provide these technologies to consumers (including the very poor) at affordable prices while ensuring that the industry remains sustainable .

Banking institutions normally lay down strict conditions for RETs investors and this deters potential users. Conditions required included a feasibility study conducted at the applicant’s expense, due to the limited knowledge on renewables by banks. In addition, the banks required land titles as collateral, portforlios of project sponsors and managers, data on past and current operations, approximate value of existing investment, a valuation report, raw material procurement plans, and the marketing strategy for the finished product .

Priority should be given to the establishment of innovative and sustainable financing programmes for renewable energy technologies. This may range from the creation of a international Fund for renewable energy projects .

In order to increase access to loans, banks should find alternatives to stringent requirements e.g. the collateral requirements. In addition small credit institutions (micro-finance institutions) could provide financing for RETs investors and users at affordable and accessible terms. Small-credit institutions are crucial in ensuring continuity when external support ceases .

Solar energy is a kind of cheap energy source for Africa , clean, green, free, without pollution or damage to the environment.

Electrifying the rural areas poses great challenges for African governments. Remote and scattered, rural homes, which are unlike homes in the urban areas, are costly and often impractical to connect to the main electricity grid. But stand-alone sources of power, such as solar energy, wind energy and power from mini-hydro generators, can help to fill the gap of remote and scattered, rural homes. In Africa solar power, which is clean and renewable, fits the demands.The sun is free and inexhaustible.

Renewable energy technologies have an important role to play in Africa ’s energy sector. With the right approach, the renewable energy industry in

Africa can become a major player in the energy sector, and meet the energy needs of a significant proportion of the population. Renewable energy technologies can play a major role in national development in terms of job creation and income generation as well as providing an environmentally sound energy service. Aggressive lobbying for renewables at national,regional and sub-regional levels is required.

Renewables can play complementary roles to large-scale conventional energy technologies. For example, RETs can be important alternatives for power generation in many drought-prone countries, when the conventional electricity sector (largely hydro-based) experiences deficits.

The social and environmental benefits of solar power are significant and will be vital to improving Ivory coast ‘s energy security as well as teaching why it’s important to value and protect its surroundings.

Kone Mohammad 

DG

GAZTEC WEST AFRICA