8 Reasons to Go Renewable
8 Reasons to Go Renewable
8 Reasons to Go Renewable
The market is moving fast and in response, prices have fallen significantly. Here are some reasons to be an early mover in renewables;
You Can Earn Money
In the UK you can have a solar PV or wind turbine system connected to the National Grid and get paid to export your energy at a much higher rate than the actual market value (currently 44.3 per kWh for solar PV). This is guaranteed for 25 years if you get connected before the 2012 DECC spending review. However the cut off point for this high rate may come earlier if take up is far higher than they expect.
Once you have this higher rate, you are guaranteed that the rate will be increased in-line with current energy price rises for the next 25 years.
If you join up after this point, the feed in tariff rate of reduction or "degression" as it is known, will be about be 6-8% per year from 2012 onwards according to LowCarbonEconomy.com.
There will also be feed in tariffs available for other renewable sources, such as heat pumps from 2011. Currently and up until then, there is a grant system in place to subsidise them.
Payback Periods are Getting Shorter
As noted above, the current feed in tariffs scheme, renewed by the recent UK Government coalition's "Green Deal" is designed to incentivise take up by offering this subsidy.
When the feed in tariff was first introduced in early 2009, it would have taken around 10-15 years for payback, due to expensive systems available. In this short space of time we have seen competition increase in the UK market where by payback has been reduced to as low as 7 years for solar PV, small and large. Competition is already heating up with big players entering the market, who often don't provide the best service/value.
Payback for wind turbines can be as low as 3-5 years and can pay back very large amounts with the right systems, although there is a greater amount of maintenance and potential failure risk with current wind turbine systems.
Other renewable technologies which will be included in the governments Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme in 2011 include solar hot water, geo, ground and air source heat pumps. The government is even considering other alternative sources to be included in a feed in tariff such as re-commissioning old water mills and other sources.
You Can Save Money
Not including any feed in tariffs, you can reduce your bills anywhere between 100 to 700 per year at current energy prices from solar PV, solar thermal or heat pumps. Savings for larger or industrial properties can be even greater if there is a good wind source or room for a larger off/on roof solar system.
If you don't have the money but do have the right roof, (south-ish facing) there is still a good option available; use a free solar PV installer who will keep the feed in tariff for themselves but you will get the savings from your bill. Usually the system is yours to keep and collect the tariff for yourself after 25 years. You may even be able to buy the system back before the 25 year contract is up, depending on the company.
Increased Property Value
You can increase your properties' value by installing renewable technology. A government backed 25 year guarantee of an income of around a thousand pounds a year (current energy prices from a 3KW solar PV system), is a big added incentive to buy a property. It will add as much value or maybe even far more, than the actual cost of installing the system. Especially if you shop around for quotes. Making it a viable option to add the system cost to your existing mortgage by re-mortagaging.
Also free installations, where you only benefit from the savings, can still add value to your property. Even if you don't live there and are renting the property out. It would increase by at least as much as the amount saved over the remainder of the 25 years or expected lifetime. You may wish to do a similar joint venture with your tenant.
You Help Development of the Global Renewable Industry
One of the reason you are being guaranteed the Feed-In Tariff for solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and soon to be others, is to help the renewable energy industry to grow. Yes this means that there will be new and more efficient technologies in the future (when the industry has grown) but at that point, there will not be such high rate feed-in tariffs available, while yours will be guaranteed at the highest rate.
Our local/global renewable industry and infrastructure needs massive growth to cope with future demand. Scarcity is good for energy companies because that equals higher prices. But is this an attitude to have when it comes to sustainability?
Renewable Energy is Secure
Security is a big issue and we are increasingly reliant on our fossil fuel supplies coming from abroad. You will be helping our home grown energy structure grow and become less dependent on dwindling external supplies. Fossil fuels by their very nature are finite resources meaning long term future sustainability is not an option.
Renewable Energy is Reliable and Abundant
For solar PV, as long as there is light, there is electricity being produced. Technology levels have increased in solar PV panels and now substantial amounts energy can be produced even in cloudy conditions like in the UK.
Solar thermal, ground/air/geo heat pumps also make a surprisingly large contribution to your heat demands, even in the UK's cold winters.
Environmentally Friendly
Installing renewable energy in your home or property will decrease the amount of carbon and other chemicals and toxins released during energy generation from fossil fuels and nuclear power.
The amount of energy produced in the lifetime of renewable products will greatly outweigh the energy used to produce them. Also the elements used to make solar PV cells like common metals, silicon and aluminium are all abundant and recyclable.
Read the original article here
By Trevor Kenwrick - 05/12/2010 - Updated 07/12/2010
Trevor Kenwrick is Director and chief editor of RenewableSavings.co.uk
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