News

30.01.2012

AZUR SOLAR comment on FIT Deadlines

     

We are sure that nearly everyone of you will have followed the Feed-in-Tariff appeals and counterappeals etc. going on currently.  We think it might be useful for you to know, how AZUR SOLAR interprets the situation and what we advise to our trusted reseller partners.

  1. The only thing that seems certain at this point, is that after April 1st 2012 there will be the FIT rate of 21p for homeowner installations
  2. In addition there remains a possibility, even if the government appeals and the verdict on the appeal takes months to come out, that installations connected BEFORE March 3, 2012, might retroactively be awarded the higher 43,3p FIT
  3. This essentially may mean:
    1. Who installs a system, which is fairly priced for the 21p rate before March 3, 2012 in fact acquires a PV system WITH an option to possibly achieve a much higher return than if installed after March 4, 2012.
    2. Selling and installing systems, that are priced for the 43,3p rate is likely to be difficult, since the 43.3p rate is by no means guaranteed – thus obtaining a higher margin for installs might be difficult.
    3. A workaround might be to price the system for 43,3p and offer a discount or a rebate down to the 21p price, in case the 43.3p is not granted.
    4. Markets already having adjusted to the lower 21p level, to achieve such a higher price might be difficult as a competitor might want to win the install based on the new lower price
    5. We, AZUR SOLAR, thus recommend to our reseller partners:
      1. As bitter as it may be, leave the potential upside to the end user and price your system right away fairly and properly according to the new 21p tariff
      2. You should win additional business in February nevertheless, since a system installed in February at least carries the “option” to possibly get awarded the higher FIT
      3. AZUR SOLAR has adjusted prices to reflect the new FIT effective January 16. As our reseller partner you are able to purchase our excellent quality products and our unique coated High-Performance AZUR 2P module as well as our AZUR Power Kits (which come in 38 variations, Portrait and Landscape style) at excellent prices.



AZUR SOLAR Outlook for 2012

We at AZUR SOLAR believe, this will be a great year for Solar PV in the UK for the following reasons:

  • The market is consolidating and only serious, efficient and competitive providers with a quality attitude, seriously dedicated to the Solar PV mission will remain
  • Whilst the FIT has been adjusted brutally and very fast, our industry will be able to deliver in 2012 and continue to provide value to anyone, who choses to deploy Solar PV
  • More and more people now see Solar PV installed, working and operating and we are seeing actual production data vs. forecasts. Typically our systems overdeliver and work perfectly well to the satisfaction of the owners.
  • With the hope, that we now may have a bit of planning security to do our work professionally and thoroughly, we should be able to collectively deliver even more quality, rather than rushed jobs.

What is new at AZUR SOLAR in 2012 ?

Building from our solidly established base of project work, which includes landmark customers such as The Bodyshop, Staples, Covers, Octopus, Bluefield, Segro and others, we shall expand our projects business.

As a manufacturers outlet in the UK, we shall expand our product range to respond to demands of our reseller partners and the market overall. We will introduce an additional line of excellent quality, lower cost inverters, additional mounting system products and additional modules on the high output and smaller size range, as well as for the estethics conscious markets.