1. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Pete West Renewable Energy Development Officer Dorset County Council Wessex Waste Minimisation Group 14 th September 2011

2. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Topics to be covered My background Solar PV basics Feed-in tariffs (FITs) Dorset County Council’s £1.5million investment in solar PV Questions and discussion at the end

3. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future How solar photovoltaic (PV) panels work West Wales Eco Centre- first grid connected domestic scale PV installation in UK (1995)

4. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Inverter and generation meter Inverter supplies AC a few volts above the incoming mains voltage

5. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Factors affecting PV performance- orientation and roof pitch

6. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Factors affecting performance- shading Pre-installation photos 10:30am 21 st March 12 noon 18 th December

7. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Actual performance 16 th October Shading 10:30am 16 th Oct

8. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Output on sunny and cloudy days 4 th March 2011-sunny all day5 th March grey cloud all day

9. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future What are solar PV feed-in tariffs? A government guaranteed payment for 25 years per kWh of renewable electricity generated. Payments are tax free for householders (not for businesses) and increase annually in line with the retail price index. There is a price “degression” for new installations as capital costs of installations fall due to the volume of the market. The cost of feed-in tariffs is passed to all electricity users and is estimated to add £3 per year to household electricity bills

10. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Solar PV feed–in tariff rates Plus 3.3 pence per kWh for electricity exported to the grid

11. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future PV manufacturing costs are falling globally Current net financial return (feed-in tariff income plus electricity used on site) is approximately 10% pa

12. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Cumulative solar PV FITs installations April – Nov 2010 (national) There were 40,000 PV installations in the UK by July 2011 There are currently 45 PV installation companies based in Dorset

13. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future Dorset County Council’s £1m schools solar PV programme + £0.5m PV on County Farms buildings Net financial benefit after loan repayment and interest @ 5% =£1.5m over 25 years (including FIT income plus free electricity for schools)

14. Improving the quality of life for people in Dorset, now and for the future ANY QUESTIONS ? E mail p.west@dorsetcc.gov.uk Direct dial 01305 228530