With the reduction of the feed-in tariffs scheme rates this week and with all the negative media attention that this has brought, you may be forgiven for thinking that solar panels are a technology of the past, like tea –making machines or the unforgettable Sinclair C5’s.
The era of solar panels
The reality, however, will be more and more solar panels will continue to adorn homes up and down the country and especially worldwide. How can we be so certain of this?
Put simply, energy costs, both nationally and internationally will continue to rise at quicker and quicker rates with all of us worldwide having to find ways to alleviate this pain on a more long term basis.
Stuart Lovatt, the founder of Heat my Home says “The re-alignment of the feed-in tariffs scheme to a more sustainable level was always on the cards because the original scheme was always designed to degrade over time to newer adopters. This will continue over the coming years, but the real reason that will keep the solar panel industry growing is escalating energy costs.”
Reducing a dependency on expensive fossil fuels, is and has been for the last couple of years, the main incentive for most early solar technology adopters. Yes, many have been swayed by the over- generous feed-in tariff, but most are protecting themselves long term from the inevitable.
The world is changing, and even the new powerhouses of China and India invest heavily in these technologies and feed-in tariffs schemes similar to ours are being adopted by most other nations, including Spain, USA, Australia, Germany and France, to name only a few. Ask yourself why the most powerful nations on the planet are doing this.
Do they know something that we already know? Of course they do! The facts that there is simply not enough black gold for 7 billion people on a long term basis and that black gold will continue to rise in price.
Richard Branson and other corporate bosses have also been warning us. The writing is truly on the wall, which we ignore at our peril.
Some people and companies too, have been accused of installing solar panels for greed rather than need, and that may be true in some cases, but it won’t change the fact that we as a nation need to protect ourselves for the long term. The same is true as individuals.
With 30 year life spans for solar heating panels, including evacuated tubes, and a 30-40 year lifespan with PV (Photovoltaic) solar panels, the long term cushion that we all need over the coming years can only be solar technology, the most effective of all micro generation systems around today.
Seriously, we have all seen the difference that a few energy price rises make, with millions of people already in fuel poverty. Can you imagine what it will be like in 5, 10 or even 20 years time, as the predicted outlook for energy prices is £2-3,000 (thousand) annually before 2020?
Yes, you read that correctly.
With that level of energy pricing, no one will ever put payback and solar panels in the same sentence again. That is why the future is bright for the solar panel industry worldwide, not just in the UK.
For anyone seriously considering a solar heating or electric panels installation, we can provide you with free quotes from trusted MCS solar panel installers, both local and nationwide.
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