Like many other people, we have looked into having solar panels to provide us with electricity but it was never cost effective. Now with rising energy costs, is it time to reconsider? Plus I have written to the blummin Council to see if they can organise a bulk purchase. How far have I got with this?
In our village there’s only a handful of people with solar panels on their houses and I wonder if this will grow. Plans are afoot for a solar farm on nearby farmland and with dramatically rising energy costs, is it time to look into this again?
The thing which has always put me off has been the cost and the all-important payback time. In my head I think 15-20 years as a realistic payback period, in other words the time it will take before we get a return on our investment.
Now we could do this ourselves. It should be relatively simple – do some research and then invite a few companies to provide quotes and make a decision about which to go for.
Alternatively, could we organise some kind of a consortium, so we can benefit from a bulk purchase? Just imagine what kind of discount might be forthcoming if, say, 100 houses place an order for solar panels with one company.
I was tempted to use the village Facebook page to ask if anyone would be interested. Instead I wrote to my local Councillor to ask if the blummin Council could organise something. She instantly replied and said it was a brilliant idea, it fitted with the Council’s plans and suggested I contacted the Councillor who has responsibility for this across the whole local authority.
At the time of writing I haven’t received a reply. Not even an acknowledgement, or even an “out of office” notification. So frustrating and a tad disappointing. Not entirely surprising, perhaps.
So I just wonder if there is an appetite out there for groups of neighbours getting together and buying solar panels together? Has this been done anywhere? Any tips or advice out there?
One thought on “Time to reconsider solar energy?”