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I have a third party installation over my roof, as have my neighbours - both neighbours houses have been sold since the panels were fitted & all the building societies wanted was a commitmment from the solar owners to remove the panels if the BS repossed the houses and asked them to do so.
While the third party solar owners were reliant on high FITs for their business model, the cost of the panels at the time was very high - around £20K IIRC & I could not afford that - and the idea was to cause a drop in installation costs over time due to economies of scale price reductions. As the cost of installations fell, so did the FITs. FITs were calculated to give a payback in 7-8 years - don't know were you get the idea that they would not pay back over 25 years ?
My contract allows for me to request the removal & re-instatement of the installation twice over the 25 year term for roof repairs at no cost to me. Pigeons are not an issue around here & the panels are self-cleaning. Inverters are an issue - I have had 2, though the first was faulty almost immediately (typically "bath-tub failure diagram" early failure). The second was picked up on by the solar company & repaced FOC to me . The installation has a mobile phone system that sends back details of the amount of electricty generated on a daily basis for them to claim the FITs, so they see immediately when it stops working.
What is in it for me ? I can use all the electricity generated at no cost to me. Typically the system generates around 4000 KWh a year, though anything in excess of what I can use goes back into the grid. Just a case of waiting till the sun shines to put the washer, dryer or dishwasher on to make the most of it. Oh, and I get to keep the installation FOC at the end of the 25 year rental term - with a guarantee that the installation is still capable of at least 80% of it's initial installed generating capacity, with any underperforming panels replaced before hand-over.
Solar installations still on the go up here, with panel, inverter & storage battery supply issues being the bottleneck that slows the rate of installations, not concerns about payback.
60W would be a very small solar installation on a MH these days - 100 / 150 is more typical. My current 130W system (with a dual battery MPPT charge controller) keeps me pretty well off grid capable during the summer - though that can't run the fridge & a 60W panel most certainly would not.
Nigel B.
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