Demand for solar panels set to surge as payback time plummets - 02 March 2010
The payback time for installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will be slashed from around 50 years to just 15 when new government feed-in tariffs come into effect on 1 April, according to calculations by cost consultant and project management consultancy Faithful+Gould.
The new tariffs, in which the government will reward households, businesses and communities who install low carbon electricity generating systems by enabling them to claim payments for the electricity they produce, are likely to cause an explosion in demand similar to that already seen in Germany.
Sean Lockie, sustainability director for Faithful+Gould, part of the Atkins engineering design group, says: “Germany has had feed-in tariffs for more than a decade and as a result it has stimulated one of the largest PV markets in the world. The UK now seems set to follow suit.
“Installing a PV roof to an average home costs around £12,000 and until now the long payback time has meant it hasn’t been a viable option for most UK homeowners. However, the new tariff will improve return on investment to such an extent that installing PV will become a sensible option for householders and businesses alike.”
Faithful+Gould used one of the company’s “carbon tools” applications to work out the likely impact of the tariffs. Under the scheme, homeowners and businesses will be paid 41p per kWh (36.1p for new homes) for electricity from PV panels, while they will buy it back at approximately 10p per kWh, guaranteeing them a tax-free income of approximately £600 pa for 25 years, rising with inflation. In addition, an average household will save around £200 pa in energy costs, which means payback for installing PVs will be realistic within 15 years at current energy prices.
“This could have a fundamental impact on the energy landscape,” adds Lockie. “While it is important to stress that other factors such as good building design are more important in the journey towards zero carbon, this represents a significant incentive in the drive to make the UK’s energy generation cleaner and greener.”
Sean Lockie will be speaking about low carbon codes, standards and regulations in the construction and build environment at the Ecobuild conference in Earl’s Court, which takes place from 2-4 March. The participation of Atkins and Faithful+Gould at Ecobuild forms part of the company’s journey to bring about industry action on climate change.
Among its activities to plan, design and enable a carbon critical world, Atkins is investing significantly to develop a comprehensive suite of “carbon tools” which will help organisations make decisions on how to reduce carbon (both embodied and operational carbon) and influence designs to achieve this.
For more information about Ecobuild and Atkins’ role at the event visit: www.atkinsglobal.com/ecobuild2010
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Media Contact:
Ben Thompson +44 (0)1372 752154 / +44 (0)7901 977869
Atkins, Head of PR ben.thompson@atkinsglobal.com
Notes to editors:
Faithful+Gould is a member of the Atkins Group of companies. It is one of the world’s largest project and cost management consultancies. Faithful+Gould employs over 2,000 staff with a turnover in excess of GBP160 million and has an expanding office base worldwide. Visit www.fgould.com for more information.
Recent Faithful+Gould / Atkins projects include:
• Internationally historic memorials – providing programme and project management services during the design and construction of the National September 11 memorial & Museum in New York;
• Projects of significant national importance – project management and provision of building and quantity surveying services for the renovation and maintenance program at the Imperial War Museum in London;
• Major infrastructure works, such as the design and programme management of the civil works for the Dubai Metro red and green lines;
• High profile transport planning and urban design – our innovative scheme to deliver a diagonal crossing at London’s Oxford Circus has helped tackle the problem of pedestrian crowding;
• Key rail projects – providing architectural and engineering design services on London’s Crossrail, Europe’s biggest civil engineering project, and designing stations, tunnelling and track systems on Gautrain, South Africa’s first high speed line.
Atkins was named among the 20 Best Big Companies to Work For 2009 by The Sunday Times; The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2009; and The Times Top 50 Companies Where Women Want to Work 2009. The company was construction and civil engineering sector winner for the fourth consecutive year in the Target National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2009.
Atkins is the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.