British installation and delivery firm Avonline has launched a solar scheme designed to allow homeowners to benefit from free electricity and revenue from the feed-in tariff. The scheme launched back in January will mean that homeowners wishing to invest in solar panels will only have to put up part of the cost, the rest being met by SunShare. Sunshare estimates that typical households with roof mounted solar installations will earn around £1,000 per annum from money generated by the feed-in tariff.

The difference between the SunShare scheme and other free solar offerings is that with this, homeowners will be able to benefit from the revenue generated from feed-in tariffs as well as cheaper utility bills. Managing Director of Avonline, Mark Wynn commented that,

“Any household that’s looking for a guaranteed long-term investment will struggle to find a better option. Qualifying UK homes can get a fully-installed solar PV system for as little as £3,999. The homeowners who make this investment will subsequently reduce their electricity bills by up to 40%. They will be able to earn over £1,000 a year from feed-in tariff payments, add value to their home, protect themselves against escalating energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint, just to mention a few of the benefits.”

This model means that both the Household and SunShare will benefit from the revenues generated by the feed-in tariff scheme, a revenue share which certainly seems a lot fairer than ones proposed by other free offerings immediately following the introduction of the tariff last year. The feed-in tariff works by offering fixed, guaranteed rates for units of energy both utilised and fed back into the grid by small scale solar generators. Wynn certainly understands that while many people are keen to tap into the revenue stream from solar energy many find it a daunting task.

“Trying to take on the whole responsibility and costs for a solar installation for your home can be a daunting task and this may have put off quite a few households who considered benefiting from the feed-in tariff scheme last year. However, with a unique scheme like Sunshare, upfront installation costs for homeowners will be significantly reduced and a professional partner will take away all the hassle of the installation, ongoing maintenance and the continuous paperwork associated with the feed-in tariff throughout the duration of the scheme.”

The backlash of the proposed review of the UK solar feed-in tariff has begun and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has now joined the debate. With the UK touted as a potential pv powerhouse of the future, the EPIA has delivered the warning that ongoing tariffs are absolutely essential for the growth and ultimate survival of solar energy in this country.

The feed-in tariff scheme was introduced in April 2010, designed as a mechanism for attracting investment in solar energy schemes, particularly roof mounted solar projects for households. The feed-in tariff works by offering fixed, premium rates for renewable energy both utilised and fed-back into the national grid by small scale generators. Tariff schemes like the one introduced in the UK last year have proved successful at incentivising investment in energy sectors which have prviously been unattarative to significant start up costs. The tariffs off-set these costs through healty yields on investments paid out by the tariff mechanism.

Elini Despotou, Secretary General of the EPIA commented,

“In times of economic crisis, it is essential to encourage the development of a promising sector such as photovoltaic’s which can create thousands of local jobs. The UK should raise its ambition and widely deploy PV, a decentralized well proven renewable electricity generation technology. According to estimates by EPIA, UK has been identified as having the fifth largest technical potential for PV in Europe. The UK also has significant existing manufacturing as well as new opportunities.”

While the UK certainly does have a huge potential, something reflected in the Ernst & Young solar attractiveness indices, the continuance and government support of the feed-in tariff will be fundamental to the survival and continued growth of solar pv. The EPIA assessment of feed-in tariffs will be reflected throughout the industry with a unanimous desire for a viable feed-in tariff capable of attracting manufacturers and investors to UK solar pv.

The early review of the UK solar feed-in tariff has caused consternation within the industry, still in its infancy and reliant on the tariff for log term viability. Chris Huhne, Secretary of the Department of Energy and Climate Change made the announcement this week that the FIT would be reviewed in light of the “threat” to the scheme posed by large scale solar projects which have begun to take advantage of the scheme. This combined with the recent spending review which will make it necessary to cut 10 per cent from the tariff rates.

The feed-in tariff was introduced as a means of attracting investment in solar energy and greatly increasing uptake in solar pv panels in the UK. The tariff works by offering guaranteed, premium rates for units of energy both consumed and fed back into the grid for small scale renewable energy producers. This tariff has been very successful at attracting investors and manufacturers alike, all keen to tap into the revenue which can be generated from the feed-in tariff. However, Huhne believes that the feed-in tariff has perhaps been too attractive with a number of large solar farms developing under the system. The DECC secretary stated,

“Since the Spending Review, I have become increasingly concerned about the prospect of large scale solar PV projects under FITs, which . . . could, if left unchecked, take a disproportionate amount of available funding or even break the cap on total funding,”

Solar Trade Association spokesman, Howard Johns lamented this news saying,

This is really bad news for the solar industry in the UK. Last week Ministers welcomed the study showing that 17,000 jobs would be created by the industry in 2011. This week has seen them once again changing the goal posts and threatening investment and jobs in the sector.”

Much hope was pinned on Copenhagen and Cancun as a way of highlighting the case for renewable energy and prompting large scale investment in green energy. Government’s globally assumed that private investment would pour in, helping to bring the big world economies closer to meeting climate change targets, win votes and of course revitalise struggling economies with a vibrant green energy industry. As it was subsequently found out, the world financial crisis was such that rather than see the universal growth of green energy, some sectors were forced to make drastic, indeed devastating cut backs.

The world recession has had a detrimental effect in certain areas of renewable energy. Certainly Spain, once a world leader in solar pv thanks to its feed-in tariff policy suffered greatly from cuts made to the tariff by Zapatero’s government in the face of a Spanish economy on the brink of collapse. However, according to the Director of the UK Carbon Trust Ben Sykes, the recession has not necessarily meant a downturn in all sectors,

“The big, exciting stuff that was going to come out of a very successful global conference didn’t happen, but you have steady growth in a number of technology areas”

The world of finance certainly recognises that despite cut backs in certain areas of renewable energy, other sectors including solar pv have continued to go from strength to strength in the UK. Ever since the introduction of the feed-in tariff in April 2010, investment in solar energy has rocketed with an impressive uptake in solar panels taking advantage of the healthy profits to be made. With regards to efficiencies, the head of HSBC’s climate change centre of excellence Nick Robins stated,

“The learning curve has accelerated during the crisis, particularly in solar.”

The UK solar feed-in tariff, legislation which guarantees fixed, premium rates for units of energy either consumed or fed back into the national grid is designed to incentivise investment in solar energy, traditionally expensive to set up. Already the uptake in solar on the back of the tariffs has exceeded expectations with over 10,000 panels installed so far. As was predicted, the uptake in solar along with the growing competition in the UK market has caused prices to fall a little bit closer to ‘grid parity’, the holy grail of renewable energy. According to energy expert Anthony Froggatt, Chinese manufacturing volumes have led to grid costs being the equivalent of nuclear in the US.