The Church at Deddington had wanted to find a way of helping the environment which would also support the Church financially. With a large south facing . . . → Read More: Solar Panels on an Oxfordshire Church Receive a Blessing from the Bishop of Oxford]]> The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul in Deddington, Oxfordshire, has had its solar panels, which were installed by SMC Solar, blessed by the Bishop of Oxford.

The Church at Deddington had wanted to find a way of helping the environment which would also support the Church financially. With a large south facing roof, solar power was an obvious option which came with the added incentive of reducing the church’s electricity bills.

The installation which was completed in just two days,  was a 9.66 kWp 42 panel array above the south aisle. The nature of the roof and the design meant that the array was not visible from the ground and meant that the solar panels were a discreet yet financially successful addition to the church.

Martin Trinder, SMC Solar Site Manager attended the blessing and was encouraged by the Bishop’s interest in reducing the carbon footprint of churches in Oxfordshire.

With a very short time window between the end of school term and the beginning of summer school activities, The American School in England at Thorpe, Surrey, appointed SMC Solar to supply and install a 50kWp solar PV system to the school gymnasium roof after the previous contractor dropped . . . → Read More: 50kWp Solar Panel Installation at School Completed in Six Days]]>

50kWp Installation on School Roof

With a very short time window between the end of school term and the beginning of summer school activities, The American School in England at Thorpe, Surrey, appointed SMC Solar to supply and install a 50kWp solar PV system to the school gymnasium roof after the previous contractor dropped out.

With only 5 days from appointment to start date, supply chain management was crucial to the success. SMC Solar, through its extensive local business network, was able to secure all the critical components to enable this prestigious school installation to be completed on time and within the original budget.

Various ‘renewables show houses’ in Faringdon (including several whose solar panel systems were installed by SMC Solar) were opened up to the public for viewing. On the first day, when one of SMC Solar’s clients opened his home for . . . → Read More: Faringdon EcoWeek draws in potential solar installations for SMC Solar across Oxfordshire and Wiltshire]]> Faringdon EcoWeek proved to be a huge success for SMC Solar Ltd and the renewables cause.

Various ‘renewables show houses’ in Faringdon (including several whose solar panel systems were installed by SMC Solar) were opened up to the public for viewing. On the first day, when one of SMC Solar’s clients opened his home for just two hours, a visitor, intrigued by solar, was won-over by the information and recommendations he received. By the end of that day he had received a home survey and a written quote, and just two days later he placed his order for solar PV to be supplied and installed by SMC Solar Ltd.

But this was just the beginning; by the end of the week and particularly after having a display stand at the Westmill Wind and Solar Farm open day, SMC Solar had received enquiries for over 150kW of other potential installations ranging from modest domestic schemes of 2kW to a private industrial park totalling over 83kW.

Faringdon Ecoweek incorporated events from visiting local wineries to recycling plants and open days culminating with the Westmill Wind and Solar Farm Open Day during which Ed Vaizey MP, launched the share offer at Westmill Solar Farm. Attendees at the day were invited to invest in a solar project that is expected to become the largest community-owned project of its kind.

Well done and thanks to the organisers for what turned out to be a hugely successful series of events putting Faringdon and Oxforshire clearly on the map for uptake of renewable technologies.

Here is a summary of the changes that will take effect from 1st August 2012:

The Government will not after all be cutting the Feed-in Tariff at the end of June. Greg Barker posted on Twitter “having listened carefully to industry, we are looking at scope for . . . → Read More: July Feed-in-Tariff Cuts Delayed]]> Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Greg Barker responds to the solar industry request to delay the proposed cuts to the FITs in July.

The Government will not after all be cutting the Feed-in Tariff at the end of June. Greg Barker posted on Twitter “having listened carefully to industry, we are looking at scope for pushing back a little the next proposed reduction in the solar feed-in-tariffs”
This is great news for once for the solar industry and for the environment! Over the last six months the industry has battled over cuts, having already seen cuts in December 2011 and new rates in April 2012, the industry was expecting further cuts to come into effect on 1st July 2012.

It is unclear when the next cut will take place, or how deep it will be – but it appears that the solar industry is being given some relief for a while longer. When questioned further about the uncertainty for the industry and customers, Greg Barker added “we are listening carefully to industry and full details of new much improved FITs regime will be published shortly”.

A typical 50kW installation might currently cost around . . . → Read More: Indicative costs for a typical 50kW barn installation]]> As FITs fall, the proportion of ‘value’ to a potential customer from the FIT alone decreases and the ‘value’ of the savings on electricity bills increases proportionately. Hence, overall returns are significantly better for a client that is able to use the majority of his home-made electricity.

A typical 50kW installation might currently cost around £76,000. Assuming a south facing roof and if a client is able to use 85% of what he produces then his annual return would be £9,746.63 (12.7%); if he uses 50% then returns are £8,655.88 (11.3%); and if use is only 10% then returns drop to £7,407.44 (9.7%).

Recent analysis of the electricity demands of a farm that is currently using a barn for grain drying showed that usage is unsurprisingly highly ‘peaky’ with April being the lowest month at 130 units to September being the highest at 19,000 units! Overall, I concluded that use of the PV generated power would amount to around 50%, thus giving a return in the order of 11.3%.

If there are any domestic dwellings that might be installed with PV at the same time (and with separate meter points) then 4kW installations might be now done as cheaply as £7500 giving initial returns as high as 16%. Of course, the government are therefore highly likely to reduce the FITs again in the 1st July review, to redress this growing potential rate of return.