Solar panels to save council £360,000 (From Daily Echo)
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Solar roof panels at Civic Centre to save Southampton City Council £360,000
4:00pm Wednesday 8th February 2012 in Environment
NEW solar panels on the roof of Southampton’s landmark Civic Centre are set to save the council more than £360,000.
The saving will come after Government cuts to green electricity subsidies were ruled unlawful.
The council said the Court of Appeal judgement means that solar panels installed and registered ahead of a March 3 deadline will now receive the full feed-in tariff rate for the next 25 years.
The then Energy Secretary and Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne had appealed against an earlier court ruling that the decision to halve the feedin tariff paid to home owners in December was legally flawed as not enough notice was given.
About 130 panels have been fitted to the Civic Centre as part of ongoing repair work to the building, which will save more than 317 tonnes of carbon and generate enough electricity to power up to five family homes.
The council is also installing panels on six other buildings, including schools. It said the total installation costs would be £700,000.
The council claimed that it would save more than £800,000 in energy costs over the next 15 years.
Some housing associations have already shelved plans to install solar panels on their homes because of the threat of cuts to the feed-in tariff.
Comments(14)
derek james
says...
4:30pm Wed 8 Feb 12
George4th
says...
4:40pm Wed 8 Feb 12
The Sun shines on the righteous!
Tony S
says...
4:49pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Total greenwash.
IronLady2010
says...
7:24pm Wed 8 Feb 12
bazzeroz
says...
9:17pm Wed 8 Feb 12
IronLady2010
says...
9:26pm Wed 8 Feb 12
bazzeroz wrote:I agree, when those bin men go in for a meeting they give off such a woft of hot air!
If they some how collected all the hot air in the civic that would certainly keep them warm! For a long time I might add.
loosehead
says...
9:28pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Where does it say the money to pay for this came from the OAP fuel allowance?
If we have a sunny summer & another mild winter these panels will pay for themselves a lot quicker.
I know that Sarnia court, Rozell court are having them fitted cutting down the costs of supplying electricity to them.
These will generate electricity & earn a living I haven't heard them given a life span so what the hells the matter with you all?
The power companies have said the price of energy can only go up in the future so anyone putting these on their roofs are going to win in the long run
loosehead
says...
9:36pm Wed 8 Feb 12
IronLady2010 wrote:Iron Lady look into it more there's a school that's had solar power plus underground piping installed it no longer has to worry about heating bills & it's earning money from the panels when the schools closed or in the summer months & that's just one instance
bazzeroz wrote:I agree, when those bin men go in for a meeting they give off such a woft of hot air!
If they some how collected all the hot air in the civic that would certainly keep them warm! For a long time I might add.
George4th
says...
10:38pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Ellwood
says...
8:21am Thu 9 Feb 12
How do we know this?....because historical evidence proves this to be so.
The installation of these solar panels amounts to no more than box ticking.
I say again....... any savings made will not be seen by those that have funded this scheme..... the council will in all likelihood squander them first.
loosehead
says...
3:24pm Thu 9 Feb 12
Ellwood wrote:So do you agree with Solar panels/Green energy or don't you?
............ councils will always find new ways to squander taxpayers money...FACT.
How do we know this?....because historical evidence proves this to be so.
The installation of these solar panels amounts to no more than box ticking.
I say again....... any savings made will not be seen by those that have funded this scheme..... the council will in all likelihood squander them first.
To many people live in the clouds wanting everything that energy brings but don't want it's generation in their neighbourhood.
Solar power will bring in an income & when the energy prices rocket as the companies have said they would the money saved by them & the people have installed them will be fantastic.
It's a pity can't look ahead & see what's staring us all in the face if I can get the money up I will install them.
The council will by investing in them make savings on energy costs now & more in the future so how can this be a bad thing?
Ellwood
says...
5:00pm Thu 9 Feb 12
Do you honestly believe that you or any other Southampton taxpayer, will notice one pennies worth of saving?
forest hump
says...
7:26pm Thu 9 Feb 12
Ellwood wrote:Agree Ellwood. Also,until the technology is well proven and affordable, now is not the time to invest. Whilst I support alternative energy sources, don't get sucked in right now as it is the Green lobby who are pushing this without a real case of sustainable, affordable, reliable generating capacity. We still need conventional generating techniques to support demand.
Whether I agree with solar Panels/Green energy is beside the point Loosehead. The point I am making here, is that this report.... suggests that savings will be made as a result. So who exactly is going to be saving? Do you honestly believe that you or any other Southampton taxpayer, will notice one pennies worth of saving?
Ellwood says...
4:21pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Not one penny of costs saved will go to benefit those that have paid for this initiative.
Smoke and mirrors springs to mind.