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The ideas and conclusions within these blogs are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Octopus. They are for general interest only and should not be taken as investment advice or as an invitation to purchase or sell any investment. For our full terms and conditions, please click here.

Government places faith in small scale solar, while cutting large scale feed-in-tariffs

Paul Latham - 13 June 2011

Last Thursday the government announced the results of its review on the subsidies available for solar installations. From 1 August the government will be reducing the feed-in-tariffs (FITs) for large scale installations, although FITs on small scale (sub-50kw) installations remain unaffected.

We see this as disappointing news for the solar industry, as it limits the investment in large scale installations offering the greatest growth potential. However, for our investors, very little has changed. The review was something we’d been planning for and we designed our products accordingly.

We expect our large scale solar installations to be completed in advance of the 1 August deadline, before the lower tariffs will be introduced. This means they will unaffected by the reduction. We also have a significant pipeline of small scale installations that will continue to benefit from the current FITs level.

From our perspective, it’s therefore business as usual. In April and May we successfully closed deals on 11 projects, investing a total of £84 million across several installation sites with an electricity capacity of 30MW. We now have a number of sites already close to completion, including a 750kWp site in Oxford where all solar panels and inverters have now been installed. The installation is on track to be connected to the grid well in advance of the 1 August deadline.

The government’s announcement will add to the already high demand for smaller solar installations and, therefore, solar remains a significant investment opportunity. Those invested in solar, either through enterprise investment schemes (EIS) or venture capital trusts (VCT), will still be able to access the compelling benefits of solar investment, on top of VCT or EIS tax advantages, and we’ll be keeping you informed on our progress.

Octopus Solar Investments
Octopus VCT 2 and Octopus EIS, our lower risk VCT and EIS propositions, invest in a portfolio of qualifying companies across a variety of sectors, with a particular focus on solar energy.

For more information please call us on 0800 316 2298 or email info@octopusinvestments.com.

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