Solar PV specialist Access Renewables has declared that the price increase by Scottish Power and expected rise by other suppliers will make installing Solar even more attractive both now and in the future.

Currently those who install Solar PV systems onto property or land benefit from the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme, which pays the system owner for any energy generated. For homeowners in particular this can amount to between £1000 and £1500 per year on average. In addition to the annual income, the system owner also benefits from the electricity they generate – thus reducing the amount of electricity they buy from a traditional electricity supplier.

Therefore those who have installed a Solar PV system are protecting themselves from above-inflation rises in electricity prices – both now and in the future.

Sean Collier, Business Development Manager at Access Renewables said “The recent price increase sends out a clear message to consumers that above-inflation price rises are to become even more common-place within the energy sector, and all signs point to this increasing much further over the next few decades. We are finding that our customers want to protect themselves from such increases by installing Solar PV systems – particularly while the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme is in operation”

The specialist installer and distributor of Solar PV systems has reported a growth in sales over the past 18 months as a result of the scheme and increased awareness in the systems. The growth has resulted in several new positions being created in both areas of the business in recent months – and the company has won several contracts which expect to boost the company further.

Solar panels have been installed onto the roof of All Saints Church on Dunotter Avenue, Eaglescliffe as part of a wider project which helps the local community save energy, money and carbon emissions. Members of the Community Action for Energy Eaglescliffe (CAfEE), an outreach group from the church, planned the solar installation alongside other initiatives in association with The Energy Saving Trust and Stockton Borough Council.

The project was successful in obtaining funding from the EDF Energy Green Fund, The Low Carbon Buildings Programme and the Congregational and General Insurance Charitable Trust following around two years of planning by churchwarden John Doherty.

Sean Collier of Access Renewables comments “We are delighted that the church is now generating their own power after a tough 18 months of raising funds by Mr Doherty. We have worked with him for quite some time to get this project off the ground, assisting with funding applications and working to install the system – which is believed to be the largest of its kind in Teesside. The system not only benefits the church by reducing electricity bills but also serves part of the wider community to promote climate change and energy issues – which is the overall aim of the CAfEE project.”

The installation team at Access Renewables installed fifty-four Sharp solar PV modules which should provide almost 8000kwh of electricity each year, and reducing 112 tonnes of CO2 emissions over the lifetime of the system. The company are also supplying a display unit which records these totals for all visitors and church users to see.

Mr Collier adds “This project is a great example of what can be achieved through community participation in energy issues. As the most local installer to the church, we are delighted that the installation was carried out by local labour and solar modules from a UK manufacturer.”

The project, funded by the Low Carbon Communities Challenge, aims to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from housing stock and public buildings in the Easterside area of Middlesbrough. One of the ways of doing so includes the installation of renewable energy systems such as Solar PV.

Access Renewables will be installing solar photovoltaic systems into seven  properties in the coming months, which will provide electricity generated from the sun. Any excess will also be fed into the National Grid.

Sean Collier, Business Development Manager at Access Renewables said: “We are delighted to be working with Middlesbrough Environment City and Middlesbrough Council on this pioneering project which is happening right on our doorstep. We’ll be making a positive difference to local residents and the local community as a whole through carbon reductions.”

In recent weeks the North East was announced as a poor performing region in terms of the number of renewable energy systems being installed – but Access Renewables are confident that the region is improving. Sean Collier comments “The project in Middlesbrough is just one of many we are working on in the region, so I’m sure the region will soon be benefiting from more installations. We feel that the region is behind others because of poor awareness and a myth that systems don’t work as well in the colder North East. This is complete nonsense – and any professional installer will be happy to demonstrate just how effective renewables are in the North East.”

Click to go to MBC Eco-Easterside page

Middlesbrough’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor David Budd, is also a ward councillor for Easterside. He said: “We’re delighted that a local Tees Valley company will be installing this renewable energy equipment. Easterside is pioneering some imaginative ways to cut carbon emissions, such as these solar photovoltaic systems, and we anticipate more will be coming onstream in 2011.”

Work is expected to begin on the Solar PV installations in Middlesbrough by the end of the year.

END

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Today the new coalition government announced that the Renewable Heat Incentive is to continue as planned – launching in 2011, following a similar style to the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme which was launched in April 2010.

The proposed Renewable Heat Incentive was originally developed under the Labour government, and the whole industry has been eagerly awaiting positive news from the coalition. The proposed scheme will reward owners of heat-generating renewable technologies for creating low carbon energy. Such technologies include solar thermal and heat pump systems.

Sean Collier, Business Development at Access Renewables said “We’ve been waiting for news for quite some time now – and the renewables industry can continue to flourish as it has done in the past 12 months and beyond following todays revelations. This latest announcement affects us directly, however other areas of the review also provide positive news which will help us further our growth plans for the medium to long term. We remain continually impressed with the support of the coalition government in developing a sustainable UK renewables industry, which will helps us create more jobs and investment in the future.”

The review also provided encouraging signs regarding the future demand for renewables, in particular the plans to build 150,000 new homes within the social housing sector in the next four years. The Stockton-based contractor already installs renewable energy systems into this sector and the announcement will mean that its clients can continue to install systems which will benefit residents whilst providing a long-term revenue stream for the social housing providers.

Furthermore, the company recently entered the solar equipment supply chain, as a distributor and reseller of solar PV equipment to other installers around the UK and Ireland. The increase in demand for Solar PV equipment will further benefit the company which has already reported success in the short time it has been operational. The company began its distribution operations in early 2010 and the company reports that the launch of the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme for Solar PV has boosted demand for its products and sales revenues are higher than anticipated.

In light of the spending review, Access Renewables are committed to an ambitious growth plan which for the large part remains unchanged, and we welcome the extension to extra funding for apprentices which may result in additional job prospects within the North East region.

Access Renewables are proud to be a part of NERA as a founding member company – having worked collaboratively with all other members and stakeholders since the initial concept was drafted. Sean Collier of Access Renewables, and NERA comments “The vision for NERA was to develop a collaborative approach to bidding for large installation contracts which usually fall to a single contractor who has a great deal of resource to carry them out successfully. By working with several companies of small to medium size from within our region to create a coalition, it creates a very real and very credible pool of talented companies to compete for work which we couldn’t necessarily successfully bid for individually.”

Village Primary School, Thornaby CE School and Harewood Junior School now have a 1.08kw system installed after Stockton Borough Council successfully received funding from the npower Climate Cops programme which promotes energy issues amongst youngsters. Each system comes complete with a visual display unit which demonstrates the system performance and carbon savings.

Sean Collier of Access Renewables comments “This is the second lot of schools within the Stockton-On-Tees area which we have successfully installed an educational Solar PV system in. The systems are very popular with pupils, staff and visitors and highlight the effects a Solar PV system can have on energy in schools and the home.”

The systems were installed by Stockton-based company Access Renewables, and consisted of modules from North-East Solar PV manufacturer Romag.

Having already achieved MCS status for Solar Photovoltaic installations with BRE in 2009, we decided to switch to ELECSA to provide our assessments for 2010, which means we can continue to provide quality Solar PV installations to customers.

The assessment procedure assesses our quality management systems, installation standards and personnel training which ensures that all installations carried out by us will be eligible for the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme (also known as Feed-in tariff scheme) and the forthcoming Renewable Heat Incentive expected to be launched in April 2011.

The Solar PV and Solar Thermal accreditations join our existing ELECSA Microgeneration Certification Scheme accreditation for Heat Pumps. Karen Jones, Managing Director of Access Renewables comments “The MCS scheme is a vital part of installing renewables in the UK and so we are delighted to be awarded accreditation for a further 12 months. It demonstrates our commitment to a high level of care, quality and satisfaction”.

In addition to the MCS accredition, the company has also recently undergone a routine audit by the Renewable Energy Association’s REAL Assurance Scheme which audits the compnies activities in Sales and Marketing.

Modules mounted in field with recycled plastic framing system near to Whitby, N.Yorks.

Solar panels mounted in a field within the park boundary have been installed and are now producing electricity using the sun, generating around £1,500 in revenue for the system owners each year, which equates to over £37,000 over the expected system lifetime.

High-efficiency solar photovoltaic panels were mounted using a highly-durable, recycled plastic framing solution usually used on flat roofs, which is thought to be the first installation of it’s kind in the UK.

Sean Collier of Access Renewables comments “The client came to us with a request to install a system  in their nearby field. The field had a large gradient so we worked with a local groundwork contractor to propose a solution to the client. We assessed the options and the recycled plastic framing system was identified as the most ideal. It’s originally designed for flat roof installation, but we adapted it to suit the unusual conditions of the field.”

The idea of using solar modules in a field is very common across the continent but uptake in the UK has so far been rather slow. It’s particularly beneficial to farmers and land owners who are looking at investing into the equipment. All it takes is a relatively small area of land which could reap excellent benefits as a result of the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme. Under the scheme, owners of solar PV systems benefit from an excellent financial rewards which are guaranteed for the life of the system. Sean Collier adds “Everyone is waking up to Solar because of the incentives. There is a huge uptake in the North East alone which we are ideally placed to serve. They provide a guaranteed source of income for 25 years – it’s a very attractive proposition and in most cases beats putting your money into savings or pensions.”

Access Renewables is pleased to report an upturn in the number of enquiries and systems being installed since the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme went live on 1^st April 2010.

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme was managed by The Department of Energy and Climate Change and provided both homeowners and public sector buildings (such as schools and councils) with funds towards the installation of renewable technologies such as Solar and Heat Pumps. The decision to close the fund came at the same time as Government announced spending cuts throughout the public sector.

The closure of the scheme prematurely will result in a number of projects, both large and small to stall or be cancelled entirely, putting pressure on renewable energy companies throughout the UK. In February this year the scheme unexpectedly closed all applications for electricity-generating projects (such as solar PV and wind turbines) following the announcement of the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme – which is now in operation. The recent cuts now mean that heat-producing projects (such as heat pumps and solar thermal) are no longer eligible for funding. The previous Government was planning to implement the Renewable Heat Incentive from April 2011, which was to operate in a similar manner to the electricity-based cashback scheme. However the future of the scheme is still uncertain. Therefore the gap between now and April 2010 will be difficult for installers nationwide.

Sean Collier of Access Renewables comments “The industry has had a very strange 12 months, first with original cuts and funds running low last year, and now the closure of the entire LCBP scheme throws a lot of projects into doubt and difficulty. We will be working hard with customers and suppliers to seek alternative funding and assistance, and we will be campaigning relentlessly to ensure the Renewable Heat Incentive is launched early next year.”

The scheme website suggests that all existing applications prior to closure will still be processed, and any customer who have already received their grant offer will still be able to make a claim against it.

Many installers are currently struggling to obtain equipment, and in many cases installation lead times are in excess of 10 weeks. Here at Access Renewables, we’ve secured stock to ensure that all of our special offer systems from now until the end of this year will be installed within 21 days. And that includes the most popular shortage items such as inverters from Fronius and SMA.

We’ve announced this industry-leading guarantee as customers seek quicker ways to benefit from the Clean Energy Cashback Scheme. We’ll ensure new systems are installed to benefit from the expected Summer sunshine!

Visit the Homeowners section of our website to view the most recent offers. The offers are based on physical stock, and so are available on a first-ordered, first-served basis – so act quickly! We will be updating the offers as stock changes.