Community pv system

[biffvernon]

We're considering commissioning a community power station. Here's the quote:

ystem size (kW)
49.92
Quantity of modules
208
Power of each module
240
System cost (excluding VAT)
£65,525
System cost (inc 20% VAT)
£78,630
Orientation and roof slope reduction (as % loss over year)
0%
Shading factor (as % loss over year)
0%
Local Irradiation
1125
Units per year estimate (KWh)
44928
Annual generation payment at 8.9p
£3,999
50% annual export payment at 3.2p
£1,438
Total payment
£5,436
Annual return on investment
6.9%
Payback period (years, not including energy bills savings)
14.5
Amount of CO2 saved (kg) per year
22,464

What d'you think?

[PS_RalphW]

You make your money back in 14 years, but with 20% VAT the government gets the electricity for free for the first 3 years. 3 years in which cancel the FIT payments and still come out in profit...

[emordnilap]

We're considering commissioning a community power station. Here's the quote:

ystem size (kW)
49.92
Quantity of modules
208
Power of each module
240
System cost (excluding VAT)
£65,525
System cost (inc 20% VAT)
£78,630
Orientation and roof slope reduction (as % loss over year)
0%
Shading factor (as % loss over year)
0%
Local Irradiation
1125
Units per year estimate (KWh)
44928
Annual generation payment at 8.9p
£3,999
50% annual export payment at 3.2p
£1,438
Total payment
£5,436
Annual return on investment
6.9%
Payback period (years, not including energy bills savings)
14.5
Amount of CO2 saved (kg) per year
22,464

What d'you think?

After in-depth consideration lasting all of four seconds, I'd say that, if you have the cash, you'd be daft not to go for it.

It strikes me that there's more to this project than simply saving money/CO2.

[clv101]

How do the economies of scale (1x50 kW compared with ~13x4 kW) work out considering the FiT drops from 21p to 8.9p? The ~£1500/kW for the 50 kW system doesn't seem cheap enough to make it a better deal than 13 smaller systems.

[RenewableCandy]

Are you sure the vat's 20%? I thought it was 5% for "green" construction.

[adam2]

How big is the inverter ?
If it is a single inverter, or more likely a bank of three inverters, one per phase, then I would be slightly concerned at the risk of failure.
Large inverters are not normally a stock item and obtaining a replacement in case of failure could take a long while.

It may be that the installation uses a large number of domestic sized inverters, in which case these are readily available.
Probably worth keeping a spare.

[JohnB]

How about this one in West Wales. It was generating at full capacity yesterday. It's privately owned, and not a community system, but still interesting.


172kWp
748 x 230W panels
3 x 50kW inverters