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As of 2015 most grid based systems are now no longer viable as the payback is around 10 cents per Kilowatt and your consumption rate is currently about 20 cents a Kilowatt. The best option to save energy
Please click on this link to see updated information: http://www.penguinaircon.com/index.php/solar/algarve-solar-panel-grants-in-portugal
BELOW IS OUTDATED INFORMATION FROM PREVIOUS YEARS »»
We have had quite a number of customers who have been accepted for next years registration (2013) mainly on 20 Panel 4.4kw solar systems. We still do not know what the payback is going to be but the consensus amongst the installer community is that it will drop by 2 cents.
The registration fee is 615 IVA inclusive payable directly to CERTIEL via Penguin but this does not obligate you to use Penguin as the installer. I recommend everyone who is considering installing PV to do this as soon as possible to guarantee a place on the scheme.
The idea behind the grants is to kick start an industry with an aim to reaching "convergence" - i.e. where it is possible to install a system cheap enough without subsidy that will pay for itself within 7 years. The Algarve has the advantage of a lot of sunshine which means this region will be one of the first to reach convergence. The problem being is that any solar photovoltaic system to be truly efficient and self sustaining it would need a battery array which adds to the cost quite significantly.
This month (November 2012) a new scheme was introduced called "The Simplified Regime" which is actually a type of convergence as the payback rate is the same as the rate of consumption.
The details of the scheme is listed below:
PRICES FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC SIMPLIFIED REGIME 5.75kw |
Investment |
|
11500 |
|
|
No |
kW per panel |
IVA |
|
1.23 |
|
Panels |
30 |
0.240 |
Total Invested |
|
14145 |
|
Inverter Size |
5.5 |
|
Investment Return |
|
6.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
Production |
EDP Tariff |
Selling Price |
Income |
Accumulated |
Investment |
YEAR |
kWh/year * |
€/kWh |
€/kWh ** |
per year |
per year |
Return |
1 |
11600.000 |
0.1424 |
0.1424 |
1651.84 |
1651.84 |
-12493.16 |
2 |
11507.200 |
0.1467 |
0.1467 |
1687.78 |
3339.62 |
-10805.38 |
3 |
11415.142 |
0.1511 |
0.1511 |
1724.51 |
5064.13 |
-9080.87 |
4 |
11323.821 |
0.1556 |
0.1556 |
1762.04 |
6826.17 |
-7318.83 |
5 |
11233.231 |
0.1603 |
0.1603 |
1800.38 |
8626.55 |
-5518.45 |
6 |
11143.365 |
0.1651 |
0.1651 |
1839.55 |
10466.10 |
-3678.90 |
7 |
11054.218 |
0.1700 |
0.1700 |
1879.58 |
12345.68 |
-1799.32 |
8 |
10965.784 |
0.1751 |
0.1751 |
1920.48 |
14266.17 |
121.17 |
9 |
10878.058 |
0.1804 |
0.1804 |
1962.27 |
16228.44 |
2083.44 |
10 |
10791.033 |
0.1858 |
0.1858 |
2004.97 |
18233.41 |
4088.41 |
11 |
10704.705 |
0.1914 |
0.1914 |
2048.60 |
20282.01 |
6137.01 |
12 |
10619.068 |
0.1971 |
0.1971 |
2093.18 |
22375.18 |
8230.18 |
13 |
10534.115 |
0.2030 |
0.2030 |
2138.72 |
24513.91 |
10368.91 |
14 |
10449.842 |
0.2091 |
0.2091 |
2185.26 |
26699.17 |
12554.17 |
15 |
10366.243 |
0.2154 |
0.2154 |
2232.81 |
28931.98 |
14786.98 |
16 |
10283.313 |
0.2219 |
0.2219 |
2281.40 |
31213.38 |
17068.38 |
17 |
10201.047 |
0.2285 |
0.2285 |
2331.04 |
33544.43 |
19399.43 |
18 |
10119.439 |
0.2354 |
0.2354 |
2381.77 |
35926.19 |
21781.19 |
19 |
10038.483 |
0.2424 |
0.2424 |
2433.59 |
38359.79 |
24214.79 |
20 |
9958.175 |
0.2497 |
0.2497 |
2486.55 |
40846.34 |
26701.34 |
21 |
9878.510 |
0.2572 |
0.2572 |
2540.66 |
43386.99 |
29241.99 |
22 |
9799.482 |
0.2649 |
0.2649 |
2595.94 |
45982.93 |
31837.93 |
23 |
9721.086 |
0.2729 |
0.2729 |
2652.43 |
48635.36 |
34490.36 |
24 |
9643.317 |
0.2810 |
0.2810 |
2710.15 |
51345.51 |
37200.51 |
25 |
9566.171 |
0.2895 |
0.2895 |
2769.12 |
54114.63 |
39969.63 |
*0.8% degradation in panel efficiency is assumed |
|
**This tariff is assumed for clients with above 10.35kVA contract with an inflation per year of 3% |
|
ADVANTAGES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SIMPLIFIED REGIME |
|
1. Ultimate protection for any price increases from EDP i.e. if it went to 50cents per kWh |
2. Un-bureaucratic and very quick to install |
3. No energy certificate required or thermal solar system needed |
4. The contract is rolling and not limited to 15 years |
5. Can go up to 5.75 KW |
6. No expensive batteries needed as you are selling back so no wastage either |
7. Potential to divert into house by changing inverter |
|
DIS ADVANTAGES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SIMPLIFIED REGIME |
|
1. Limited to 50% of your contract - but if your contract is over 20.7 KVA you will qualify for 5.75kw |
2. More space required – 60m2 for 5.75kw |
3. Weather/Location dependant (estimate is for FARO) |
4. May be charged income tax on generated income (not a law yet but it is talked about) |
2012
SOLAR ELECTRICITY PANEL GRANTS ARE OPEN AGAIN!
The grant for Photovoltaic or PV is now definitely going ahead next year January 2012 and we are now taking orders.
The bad news is that there is only an allocation of 10 Megawatts this year which equates to about 2500 systems across the whole of Portugal. Last year the allocation was 30 Megawatts which is approximately 9000 systems and that allocation was used up within about 9 months. The demand this year is much greater due to the amount of foreign residents who have installed the UK system.
This means you have to act now if you want to take advantage of this grant as there is already a reserve list for applications in January.
In short:
- The average price of a 4.4kw system (36m2 of panels) will be --- plus IVA
- The average price of a 3.6kw system (26m2 of panels) will be --- plus IVA
- The price is indicative as there may be some extra building work such as getting the cables to the meter but it is never usually much higher
- The price you sell back to the EDP is 32.6 cents per kw for the first 8 years and 18.5 cents per kw for the next 7 years
- Payback is on average 6 years.
- A registration fee is payable of 615 Euros which puts your name on a rolling list for when applications are started in January (the sooner you do this the better as there is now lots of demand)
- The IVA rate this year is 13% but it goes up next year to 23% - so there is an option to pay this year at the cheaper IVA rate - the equipment is bought and stored (at your residence if you wish) - and installed next year once your application is successful. If for some reason your application is not successful this money is refundable and equipment returned.
- If you decide to go ahead we arrange a technical survey to finalize all the costs and send through a definitive quote.
THE OLD SOLAR HOT WATER HEATING GRANT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE -
The Ministry of Economy and Innovation in Portugal launched a program to encourage the purchase of renewable energy.
A 'turnkey' solution was devised which included the purchase, installation, maintenance and security of all equipment at a discount of more than 50% over the selling price to the public.
The immediate benefits were:
1) An initial grant € 1641.70 is awarded for the installation of solar panel solution.
2) The deduction of 30% of the cost of investing in IRS tax benefits.
3) Loans are also available for easy payment terms.
200L Thermosiphon |
300L Thermosiphon | 300L Forced Circulation |
|
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Tank and one solar panel on the roof. |
Tank and two solar panels on the roof. | Two solar panels on the roof and tank situated on the ground. | |
Original price of Equipment | 2720.00 Euros | 3550.00 Euros | 4870.00 Euros |
Grant Available | 1641.70 Euros | 1641.70 Euros | 1641.70 Euros |
What the customer has to pay (incl. IVA) | 1078.30 Euros | 1908.30 Euros | 3228.30 Euros |
Value that can be deducted from IRS | 323.49 Euros | 572.49 Euros | 796.00 Euros |
Effective price the customer pays (incl. IVA) |
754.81 Euros | 1335.81 Euros | 2432.3 Euros |
The are some conditions to getting this grant were :-
1. You need to be physically in the country for us to arrange the grant with your bank
2. It is slightly bureaucratic, but we will try to take as much pain out of the process as possible.
3. It is not known how long these grants will last.