Words: Ian Rose, Professional Services Director at PassivSystems
The way we monitor solar PV panels is the difference between an investment fully realised and an investment exposed to unnecessary risk, argues Ian in this essential column…
The solar market has endured a rollercoaster ride as government incentive levels have fluctuated, driving large peaks and troughs in consumer and professional investor demand.
However the UK solar industry, for example, is currently one of the most active markets in Europe, with over 1GW installed in the last two years. The near-term future looks promising, with the UK set to become the largest solar market in Europe for the first time during the first quarter of 2014.
The underlying trend has been one of steady growth and solar PV remains a core component of government policy in the UK Renewable Energy Roadmap. Solar PV currently accounts for 12% of renewable electricity capacity in the UK and 2.9% of renewable electricity generation with the majority being used in domestic applications.
Despite the well documented challenges that have been faced by the solar PV market, the market remains an attractive investment opportunity. Portfolio owners have successfully driven improvements into the supply chain and operation and maintenance contracts have become more sophisticated in how they assure performance is maintained.
With falling Feed in Tariff (FiT) rates, today’s solar PV dealmakers (banks, investors, developers, social landlords etc) demand maximized yields from their solar investments. As they push for Lowest Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE), investors are seeking new ways to guarantee their returns and increase on-going ROI.
Numerous academic studies have investigated the real performance of panels in the field. Typically these have tended to focus on the ability of the technology to deliver against forecast performance. PassivSystems decided to compare actual performance with the theory reported by these studies.
