Businesses in Oxfordshire are continuing to invest in photovoltaic (PV) solar systems despite the end of the Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) scheme, says NGRE Managing Director, Greg Bishop.
The FIT scheme is a government programme designed to promote the uptake of renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies with payments made for electricity generated.
The scheme closed to new applications from April 1, 2019, but despite this, businesses in the area are still keen to make the investment into renewables.
Substantial Savings Even Without FIT
Mr Bishop said: “The FIT was an attractive offer, but businesses that use a lot of electricity and are seeing their bills rise realise that even without this incentive they can still save an awful lot of money by generating their own free electricity.
“A solar PV system will go some way to insulating a business from these price hikes and don’t forget, they’ll also be able to sell any electricity they do not use back to the grid. Post FIT, solar PV is still an extremely attractive proposition.”
Nicholsons Adds Second Large PV System
One such business, is North Oxfordshire based, Nicholsons, which provides a range of professional services, including garden design, garden construction, garden maintenance, forestry and arboriculture.
NGRE recently installed a new 53.6kWp system at the company’s North Aston base, and added to an existing array, Nicholsons estimates it will generate between 60% and 70% of its energy needs.
The More We Produce the Better
Niel Nicholson, Financial Director, said: “We wanted to add another system because we use a lot of electricity – we have 40 people working out of offices, we have irrigation systems for the plant centre and we have The Yurt café – so the more we can do to produce our own the better.
“With the first system we got in early with the full Feed-in Tariff but even now we’re still able to sell back to the grid what we don’t use.”
He added: “We think the investment will pay for itself in 8 to 10 years and we’re happy with that payback.”
The New System
The new solar PV system is an array of 151 high performance LG 355W Mono Neon2 V5 panels mounted on the roof of one of the site’s barns and is totally separate from the previous system so as not to interfere with that system’s FIT.
It alone is estimated to generate 48,669 kWh of electricity per year and save 25,453kg of carbon. While some businesses are also looking to take advantage of battery storage, storing some of the electricity for use at another time, for Nicholsons, their usage is immediate.
Mr Nicholson said: “We’ve considered battery storage, but for us, its not necessary because most of our electricity need is during the day.”
NGRE
Mr Nicholson added of NGRE: “We chose them because they are a local company, they know what they are talking about and have sensible prices. We’re really pleased with the results.”
If you’re interested in investing in a solar PV system, fill out our contact form, and one of our experienced team will be in touch to discuss your requirements.
NGRE specialise in the supply of the latest renewable solutions for architects, builders, businesses and homeowners in Oxfordshire and surrounding areas and have more than 10 years’ experience. We are MSC accredited installers of solar PV systems which all come with a 20-year guarantee.