Welcome for solar panel tariff cuts

A leading Yorkshire installer of photovoltaic panels, Driffield-based Dodds Solar, welcomed the move as a necessary step to put the developing industry on a sustainable footing.

Thousands of rooftop panels have been installed because the payments for contributions to the National Grid offered returns of up to 18 per cent a year on the investments. The government tinkered with the figures but the cost of the panels was dropping so quickly the boom continued.

This week Energy Minister Greg Barker announced “consultation” on a December 12 deadline for the old rates and substantially lower rates for new agreements. He is unlikely to budge much. The last eligible installations will have to be in production and with agreements in place by that date.

Many farmers have already got in on the act and to maximise returns under the old rules, many are running several separate installations of up to 50kw on buildings with separate meters. DECC is tightening this loophole too. From next April, multiple installations will get only 80 per cent of the rate for single installations.

But Martin Bleasby, business development manager for Dodds Solar, said: “It was clear something had to happen. It was never supposed to be a get-rich-quick scheme. The way things were going, the budget was going to run out in a few months. Now we can look at building a business which is sustainable for years to come.

“On the face of it, the new tariff would cut the return rate to six or seven per cent. Even that does not look bad in the current climate. But we have been talking to our suppliers and we think we can still get it to 11-12 per cent by cutting costs. We are confident we can carry on growing.”

Dodds Solar grew out of a local roofing company but now sub-contracts its roofing work and has 70 people employed on the installation of around 2,500 225-watt photovoltaic panels a month.