£1 million income from solar panels

We have beaten the government's revised deadline to install solar panels at some of its properties before the feed-in-tariff is cut, a move which will generate estimated revenues of almost £1million over 25 years. We have completed a three month programme to fit 300 solar panels across nineteen of our properties in just four weeks with the help of our in-house trades team (Home Repairs) and Scottish and Southern Energy engineers.

Benefits to customers

By meeting the midnight deadline on Sunday 12 December we now expect to be able to pass on the benefits of a feed-in-tariff at £0.433 per kilowatt hour to tenants, many of whom are elderly and on fixed incomes, and not at the reduced rate of £0.168.
Commenting on the achievement, managing director Alister Steele said:  "We are very grateful to the teams of engineers, both our own and those from Scottish and Southern Energy, who have been working flat out to make the deadline without cutting corners. The result is that we will be able to pass on the reduction in our electricity costs in lower service charges for our tenants, many of whom are among the most vulnerable in society."

Sheltered housing and offices

We have installed 300 photovoltaic panels across 19 locations in Edinburgh and the Lothians, mainly to sheltered housing but also at office premises. The panels should generate 1,439,031 kwh of electricity over 25 years, reducing the cost of electricity imported from the national grid by £117,633. Exporting electricity is expected to generate revenues of £935,000 with the total benefit estimated at around £800,000 over 25 years.