TUESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2011
Installing a 13m2, 2kW PV array typically costs £11,500. On a south facing roof, the array would be expected to generate 2,000kWh per year. Given it costs about 10p per kWh to buy electricity from your supplier, the overall return is around £1000 per year. In 12 years time, half the time the payments are guaranteed for, the array will have recouped its original cost.
Companies such as Isis Solar, HomeSun and A Shade Greener are now cashing in on the FIT scheme and offering free solar PVs. They pay for the array and the installation, the homeowner gets the electricity generated for free and the company keeps the FIT payments.
FITs mean home PV arrays now make financial sense. With 25-year profits of £10,000 feasible for a 13m2 array and free electricity available for those willing to rent their roof, solar electricity is now accessible and profitable.
More information about the FIT scheme is available here.
Written by Sam Bayliss
![](mailto:?subject=FIT incentives and free solar panels&body=http://bluesci.soc.srcf.net/posts/fit-incentives-and-free-solar-panels <div class="mceTemp"><dl id="attachment_902" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px;"> <dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a href="https://bluesci.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/solar-panels.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-902" title="From: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_panels_on_a_roof.jpg" src="https://bluesci.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/solar-panels-300x152.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="152" /></a></dt> <dd class="wp-caption-dd"></dd> </dl></div>For each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity you as a homeowner generate, your energy supplier will pay you 41p. If you don’t use that electricity yourself and it is exported to the National Grid, you receive an additional 3p per kWh. In the case of solar PV, these payments are fixed for 25 years once you join the scheme.<br><br>Installing a 13m<sup>2</sup>, 2kW PV array typically costs £11,500. On a south facing roof, the array would be expected to generate 2,000kWh per year. Given it costs about 10p per kWh to buy electricity from your supplier, the overall return is around £1000 per year. In 12 years time, half the time the payments are guaranteed for, the array will have recouped its original cost.<br><br>Companies such as Isis Solar, HomeSun and A Shade Greener are now cashing in on the FIT scheme and offering free solar PVs. They pay for the array and the installation, the homeowner gets the electricity generated for free and the company keeps the FIT payments.<br><br>FITs mean home PV arrays now make financial sense. With 25-year profits of £10,000 feasible for a 13m<sup>2 </sup>array and free electricity available for those willing to rent their roof, solar electricity is now accessible and profitable.<br><br>More information about the FIT scheme is available <a href="http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Sell-your-own-energy/Feed-in-Tariff-scheme">here</a>.<br><br>Written by Sam Bayliss){kind=link}