by Thomas Holdaway, Project Engineer, Catch Energy
The market for a solar installer is a tough one at the moment. Deep cuts in the once generous Feed in Tariff (FiT) have deeply affected the profitability of installing solar in a home. This problem began to bite after 2015 which was a record year for growth in solar capacity (86%). Since then growth has fallen year on year to just 11% in 2017.
UK and Europe
This slow in the UK market has even affected continental Europe, with their higher rates of growth slowed by these figures from the UK.
This cut in the FiT has been compounded in the past couple of years by solar panels which, although falling in price, were still too expensive to counteract the reduction in the FiT, and a battery industry which had still not quite reached maturity.
Challenges for Solar Panel Manufacturers
Solar panel manufacturers are beginning to feel the pain from this slow in growth with many of their business models banking on rapid growth in the industry. Price falls in solar panels are now beginning to gather pace.
Combine this with improved battery performance at even lower costs and it is probable that the growth in solar capacity will begin to pick up again over the next couple of years. Rising UK electricity costs will only further the probability and speed at which growth returns.
Battery storage a critical market
When this growth returns, battery storage will be critical to ensuring great returns on investment for customers. Catch Energy are ready to facilitate this growth by offering a home energy storage system with a competitive 10 year warranty to ensure peace of mind into the future and 70% saving on annual energy bills.
Fig.1 Electrical Generating Capacity of Renewable Energy Plant
