New dawn for solar installs across Sunderland

SALES of solar panels are surging across Wearside as rising energy bills make renewables a more attractive prospect, local installers have reported.

And Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s decision to end VAT on renewables, beginning this April and lasting for the next five years, is expected to boost purchases even further.

Danny Edward, director of Durham-based Save Heat Energy, said: “We’ve been rushed off our feet this year with the number of people getting in touch, and the overwhelming majority of them are looking at ways of cutting their energy bills long-term.

“We’ve taken on new salespeople to deal with the enquiries but expect business to continue increasing in the wake of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement and especially as massively-increased energy bills start dropping through letterboxes this year.”

His view was echoed by Lee Peachey, director of Clear Climate in Peterlee, who said: “Solar is definitely on the rise again – both domestic and commercial, from our company’s experience.

“The cost of solar panel installation has dropped over the years and that, together with rising energy bills, means a lot of households and businesses are now seeing it as the way forward.

“A decade ago, systems were a lot more expensive to install and the Government was offering incentives to get people to ‘go green’ and install solar but now, it simply makes financial sense for those with suitable roofs to effectively buy energy independence with solar.”

Paul Harbord, director of the Steadfast Group, also in Peterlee, suggested the current surge in solar might only be the tip of the iceberg.

“The energy bills that many are starting to see on their doormats are frightening and while everyone is hoping they’re going to drop in the next few years, they could well become the ‘new normal’,” he said.

“We’ve installed solar panels for years, but whereas business sharply declined when the feed-in tariffs ended, we are now seeing a big uptick in enquiries.

“That’s not surprising because even ourselves, as a company, have been looking to switch to renewables wherever possible – we’re in the process of electrifying our fleet of vehicles and much of the equipment we offer to clients is now solar-powered.”

New jobs are now expected to be created across the North East as the solar installation industry expands for the first time since the austerity years of the Coalition Government, when David Cameron famously decided to ‘ditch the green crap’ as a cost-cutting measure.

Danny Edward’s company has been around since that original ‘rush to solar’ and felt the pain when government incentives were slashed and the renewables industry contracted painfully.

“It was a terrible time for the UK solar industry when feed-in-tariff incentives were prematurely reduced and then scrapped altogether,” he recalled.

“It cut the solar industry off at the knees and many companies exited the market.

“Just think where we would be now in terms of energy independence if those incentives had carried on for the last half-dozen years?

“Save Heat Energy was one of the few solar companies in the North East that continued on – because we believed in what we were doing – and, ironically, solar is now roaring back in this country because prices of installs have dropped and energy bills have sky-rocketed.

“The great thing about domestic solar is that it gives ordinary people energy independence, whereas solar farms tend to benefit big business and corporate interests, often at the expense of our countryside.”

Marion Statham, who has worked as a renewable salesperson in the North East for the past decade, said: “Solar is an easier sell to customers now than it has ever been.

“If you go back 10 years ago, many people were still uncertain of the technology – they worried about things like fires, breakdowns, panels shattering or just the strangeness of having solar panels on their roof.

“Now, it’s recognised as proven and accepted technology – people see it everywhere and it has become a part of everyday life and you don’t have to spend so much time convincing people of its safety and reliability.

“More than that, though, is the fact that solar systems are cheaper to install now than they have ever been and with energy prices shooting up by more than 50 per cent this month, with further increases expected, solar is becoming a really cost-effective way to manage energy costs.

“As an added bonus, it helps save the planet too!”