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Posts tagged with: solar investments

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is designed to help

smaller higher-risk trading companies to raise finance by

offering a range of tax reliefs to investors who purchase new

shares in those companies. Companies who are AIM and

Plus-quoted are covered in tax terms.

Income tax relief – Provided an EIS qualifying investment is

held for no less than three years an individual can reduce

their income tax liability by an amount equal to 30% of

the amount invested. The minimum subscription is £500

per company and the maximum per investor is £500,000

per annum. Any individuals who have not used their EIS

entitlement in the previous tax year can subscribe for up to

£1,000,000 of EIS qualifying shares in the current tax year

and treat £500,000 as subscribed in the previous year. Over 7

Billion has been raised into EIS companies

across the country since the schemes inception

in 1994. These range from small ‘friends and family’ rounds,

business angel investments where individuals are contributing

skill as well as funding, through to formal public offers and

EIS funds. The market is fragmented and often it is difficult to

find suitable investments or information about the company

or fund managers. The number of more professionally

managed EIS funds now is growing and this sector is

becoming more established.

 

SOLAR POWER

The UK Government has used powers under the Energy Act

2008 to introduce a system of feed in tariffs FIT) to incentivise

small scale, low carbon electricity generation by providing

“clean energy cash back” for householders and expects

an approximate rate of return of up to 8% per annum for

well sited installations, preferably south facing in order to

maximize the power that can be generated.

The Company has secured the purchase of up to 135

Systems which will have been installed prior to 12th

December 2011 via Solar Power companies within the UK for

free. This guarantees Tax Free FiT payments for 25 years.

The Company intends to use the money raised by this private

placing to acquire the Systems from Solar Power companies

for £18,000 per System.

However, due to the fantastic returns and the great high take up

of the opportunity the Government has

decided to reduce the Fee in Tariff from 43p to 21p. Again we

planned ahead to secure a further 1,000Premium Solar Systems which

will generate the exact same benefits & guaranteed returns due to the volume

related discounts secured from the high numbers of systems purchased on your behalf.

INVESTMENT & RETURNS

Investors can invest their funds in our EIS which guarantees

30% Tax Relief on their investment, guarantee returns of 5%

to 8% Tax Free for 25 years, comes with 100% Inheritance

Tax Relief & Capital Gains Tax Deferral Relief, guaranteed

return of the initial Lump Sum Tax Free, minimum 4 years

investment period & DOUBLE Tax relief status.

TARGET MARKET

This document & offer is directed to High Net Worth &

Sophisticated individuals, Professional & Independent

Financial Advisers & Accountancy practices.

This document is for marketing only and advice should be

sought from independent IFA‘s before decisions are made to

invest,  The content of this promotion has not been approved by an authorised

person within the meaning of Financial Services and Markets

Act 2000 (as amended) (“FSMA”). Reliance on this promotion

for the purpose of engaging in any investment activity may

expose an individual to a significant risk of losing all of the

property or other assets invested.

Solar Power Investments has created financial vehicles

for investors to maximise their returns whilst benefiting

from tax relief on both the Investment and the returns,

which is unique in the industry.

A sustainable power source, a sustainable investment

EXAMPLE

£100,000 invested – £30,000 immediate

Tax benefit

£5,000 to £8,000 return Years 1 – 4

and the entire £100,000 returned to the

investor anytime from Year 4 to Year 25

Total Returned minimum – £150,000 minimum

& £162,000 after 4 years

To register for more information please visit:

www.SolarP​owerInvest​ments.co.u​k/AmazingI​nvestments

This document is for marketing purposes only & all generated enquiries will be directed to a qualified & authorised Financial Adviser

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the UK solar photovoltaic industry, the fact remains that with the feed-in tariff in place in any form, there will continue to be a market for investors. The coalition government has announced that they will be changing the feed-in tariff to focus on smaller scale, roof-mounted solar installations to the detriment of large scale solar farms.

However, for those installing solar pv panels, there are still very healthy returns to be had from the payments which come from the feed-in tariff scheme something which Eco Environments believe is the main catalyst behind the growth of the industry in the UK.

There is a very evident media focus on climate change and the resulting political rhetoric which follows and also, a growing culture of awareness in green energy, recycling and the need to dramatically reduce carbon emissions on a domestic level. David Hunt of Eco Environments believes however that the growing interest in installing household, roof-mounted solar panels comes not from a desire to be environmentally friendly but from the commercial advantages which come as part of the feed-in tariff.

Hunt believes that,

“Most people are looking at it now domestically because they are going to get two or three per cent on an ISA or out of the bank account, but with the solar they can get 15 per cent”.

At a time where it is very hard to find savings accounts offering attractive interest rates and there is a worldwide lack of confidence in traditional investment opportunities in the stock market, it is perhaps unsurprising that the great majority of people look to install solar panels for purely financial reasons. After all, while it is the government’s business to meet carbon reduction targets and appear to be environmentally friendly, it is the homeowners business to dramatically reduce their utility bill while hopefully creating a very steady revenue stream on the side

It is unsurprising that the man who headed the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) when the feed-in tariffs were announced under the previous government has joined the campaign against making cutbacks to the feed-in tariff. Ed Miliband now leader of the opposition has come out in favour of maintaining the current rates paid to solar projects regardless of scale.

Greg Barker is in favour of reducing the feed-in tariffs for larger scale solar farms to ensure that investment is focused on solar rooftop installations rather than large scale solar farms which have sprung up in order to take advantage of the tariff payments. The coalition government has maintained that in order for household solar projects to be successful, a cap on payments will be introduced for all solar projects over 50kw capacity, making large scale solar farm projects financially unviable.

Miliband showed his opposition to proposed cuts by signing an early day moton with a view to provoking a debate in parliament to highlight the reasons for maintaining the solar feed-in tariff for all projects. A Labour Party spokesman commented that,

“There has been no real debate about this significant change and we want to see it debated properly at the committee level.”

The feed-in tariff works by offering guaranteed, premium rates for units of energy both used and fed-into the grid by solar photovoltaic generators. The feed-in tariff mechanism was introduced as a way of making solar projects more commercially viable by off-setting the obvious set up costs in installing solar pv equipment. Therefore, the proposed 40-70 per cent cuts for installations over 50kw could prove disastrous for larger schemes as investors are turned off by a lack of returns.

Shadow climate minister, Huw Irranca-Davies echoed the leader of the party stating,

“Minister Greg Barker’s decision to go ahead with the proposed dramatic Feed-In Tariff reductions for community, school and hospital schemes, is a big blow to British industry and betrays the government’s promise the be ‘the greenest government ever.”

Adding, “A decision such as this which fundamentally alters the future for the solar industry in the UK deserves real debate, where MPs can question the Minister on his rash and ill-thought out decision. It should not be snuck quietly through the Commons.”

The proposed cuts to the UK solar feed-in tariff for large scale energy producers has been met by angry reaction from the industry who believe it could prove disastrous for fledgling solar projects. The plans are for the tariffs to be cut for more large scale solar projects such as those being set up on large solar farms or on the roof space of commercial buildings. The government has made efforts to distance itself from these more industrial scale solar projects and has instead publicly favoured micro-generation solar schemes for households and local communities.

The solar feed-in tariff works by offering guaranteed, premium rates for renewable energy both used and fed back into the grid by small scale renewable energy producers. The aim of this mechanism is to encourage investment in this once expensive industry by offering the opportunity of both long term revenue generation and savings on utility bills for households. Ernst & Young who have perennially made the connection between attractiveness for investors and the strength of feed-in tariffs believe that proposed changes to the mechanism at this point could be disastrous. Ben Warren, a partner of Ernst & Young commented that,

“The whole investor market was totally disengaged as a result of the feed in tariff being ripped up,”

Certainly the correlation between the strength of the UK tariff and the potential for investors to put their cash into solar projects in this country is significant and the warning from other countries is that where tariffs are rolled back, the solar industries in those countries fail as a result shortly after. Proposed government plans currently subject to lengthy consultation are for reductions of tariff payments for solar installations falling within the 250kw to 500kw bracket. This will affect larger scale schemes such as proposed solar farms based in the West Country where large areas of agricultural land are being set aside for the installation of solar pv systems.

The basic idea behind this plan is that more subsidies which essentially come from UK energy consumers are fed into projects which benefit the whole as opposed to wealthy investors looking to make a quick buck from solar farm investments. The move will certainly fall into Cameron’s cosy idea of a ‘Big Society’ whereby community projects, social housing and local services will all benefit from the revenue which will potentially be generated by tapping into renewable energy. Government spokesman Greg Baker said that he was keen to,

“Make sure that we capture the benefits of fast-falling costs in solar technology to allow even more homes to benefit, rather than see that money go in bumper profits to a small number of big investors”.