How we are coping with the government’s shock announcement of 31st October of their intention to slash the FIT rate in December.

Since the government’s announcement of their intention to cut the Feed in Tariff over three months in advance of the date that had always been agreed, we are managing by more than doubling our normal installation rate to install up to 50 systems a week in order to get all our pre-existing orders completed in good time before the due date.

Since the announcement we have also taken a number of orders for domestic customers, schools and churches at the new rate, which is good to see; PV panel prices have dropped substantially which has enabled us to also reduce our sales prices substantially for the New Year. Coupled with the threat that from April 2012 there will be a requirement for an energy audit before solar can be installed – and that Feed in Tariff eligibility will then be linked to the house’s Energy Performance Certificate – this means it is still a good time to get a system installed before April and be safely locked in at the new rate which is also inflation-linked for the 25 years.

Solar thermal is also enjoying a comeback relative to solar PV, with lots of new orders since the announcement of the Renewable Heat Incentive, coupled with the £300 upfront grant available for thermal systems installed before April – plus of course the ever-increasing fuel costs.

Some calculations assessing the financial viability of commercial scale solar PV based on the new FIT rates can be found here