8669 Winding your electricity meter back!

Hi

I want to investigate the possibility of utilising solar panel electricity to feed back through the electric meter (winding it backwards) and into the national grid (if thats what the system is caled in Italy).

Does any one know / have experience of a system such as this over there in Italy?

Help appreciated.

Andy

Category
Cost of living - Utility Services

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 01:53

From memory.

Under the current system Enel agrees to pay you 45 cents per KW/h produced for the next 20 years. There is an inflation kicker and they agree to pay you more then what they are charging. So if rates go up so will the pay out.

You get to keep the power created. Your consumpation is net.

It can get even better. Various Italian banks are offering mortgages tied to the offer. So you could get setup with no cash out. There would be a timing issue. Enel pays annually and I'm guessing the banks want monthly.

My plan is solar hot water panels this spring and if I have enough roof left then solar electric this summer. It makes sense if you can manage the start up costs some how.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 04:25

I always thought the set up costs were very high or has that changed , also whats the ratio ( broadly) between the cost of a solar collector and each kilowatt produced ?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 05:18

The setup costs can be quite high. That's why the banks are offering the loans. The Enel annual payout should cover a 10 year loans costs plus leave you with 10 years of income.

The cost isn't just the panels. So smaller installs actually cost more per KW produced then bigger ones.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 05:58

[quote=deborahandricky;81371]I always thought the set up costs were very high or has that changed , also whats the ratio ( broadly) between the cost of a solar collector and each kilowatt produced ?[/quote]
I spoke to a neighbour here recently about the photovoltaic system he had installed a few months back. He told me it cost €23,000 for a 3kW system. He said he probably could have found a firm that would have done it for less, but he liked the fact that the company he used dealt with all the paperwork associated with grants (or maybe - given Nick's comments - he was talking about loans, not clear on that). They mounted the panels on the roof, installed the associated equipment, hooked the system up to the "grid" and sorted out ENEL's technical and bureaucratic requirements.

I found the cost a breath-taking figure, but if ENEL is really paying out €0.45 per kWh produced, it seems to me it might - as my neighobur is convinced - be a good investment. As many have noticed, the sun [I]does[/I] shine quite a bit here! (Although photovoltaic panels do have some output even when it's overcast.)

We've asked our neighbour to get in touch with the company and have someone come and speak to us. I'll post something about that when it happens.

Al

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 06:38

Hi Guys

Thanks for the answers so far. I think this might be worth looking into a bit more as at the moment we are only over there for 6 - 8 weeks a year, we could be getting paid for our production all the time.

The set up sounds high, but as stated, may be a good long term investment.

I look forward to any further comments and help on the issue, and will also post any further info I get from other sources.

Cheers

Andy

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 07:49

The start up costs look high but remember you're buying 20+ years of power in advance. I think the panels come with 25 year warranties. The inverters are the expensive bit that comes with shorter warranties. OTOH they are also the bit you can stick inside out of the weather.