Solar Panels - Advice

siross

Hi all,

We're due to complete on our new home this Friday (24th May) which has solar panels on the roof. I'm currently sorting the forms for change of ownership which will be part of the house sale contract.

I've been doing loads of reading but I'm still extremely confused, can anyone help with these simple questions?

1) I understand the Feed In Tariff (FIT) rates are set centrally in line with RPI. Therefore the energy supplier in this instance is irrelevant. However, I've been told by the current house owner that they're on a preferable deal with Scottish Power since they installed the panels in late 2013? Is it the case that they got a better deal fixed at that point and I can benefit from this by keeping it going?

2) The change of ownership states "FIT payments consist of two parts. You receive money for the electricity you generate but may also get paid for any electricity which you do not use yourself and feed back in to the National Grid. In other words the electricity you export. You can opt out of the Export Scheme and see the surplus electricity generated by your system to a supplier other than Scottish Power." This suggests that there is a competing figures between suppliers and I should be able to compare? Or is this just a legal point to say that we can split it if we wish but there is not financial benefit of doing so?

3) The change of ownership form doesn't have anywhere for the current owner to sign. This seems a bit strange. It's covered by the house sale so they wouldn't be able to carry on receiving the FIT payments but it's still seems strange. I'm asking Scottish Power about this tomorrow.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Simon