It was all looking too good to be true. And it is.
When I began this solar quest, it appeared that essentially the total cost of my system would be met, either by a grant or an interest-free loan from Energy Saving Scotland. I got my report as required and I sent off my forms about a week ago.
I've just had a look at the Energy Saving Trust's (EST) website where it turns out that in preparation for the arrival of the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) they have amended their policy regarding grants and loans for electricity microgeneration - it is not good news.
For a start, the grants have been stopped. That's £4,000 we won't get. Also, the limit for loans has been reduced from £10,000 to £4,000. Therefore, if we go ahead on the basis of our existing quote, we'll at best get a £4,000 loan and have to find the rest.
In my opinion, it is still worth going ahead, given the long-term finances. Furthermore, rather than wait another month for a relatively paltry loan and lose a month of generation, it may be worth simply going ahead on our own finances and eschew the government's attempts to incentivise this. Perhaps what I'm saying is that the FiTs scheme from the government is incentive enough and both they and I know it
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