#18297
Whale
Flatchatter

    CCBaxter, regulars will know that for over three (3) years now there have 13kW of solar panels on the roof of our building, comprising those of the Owners Corporation and of individual Owners.

    Consequently and with regard to the Owners Corporation’s investment at our Plan, I’m in a position to answer the question “will being green leave us all in the red?”

    The answer from the purely financial perspective inferred by the question is, that even with gross metering and the $0.66 gross feed-in tariff from which our Plan will continue to benefit under the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme until 2016, ……. YES until the last year of the Scheme when the solar panels will have paid for themselves.

    Is 5+ years a reasonable return on the Owners Corporation’s investment?

    Probably yes, but in the absence gross metering and the subsidised feed-in tariff that our Plan receives, I’d now be examining any proposal being put very closely, and particularly so in your case as like every other business person, your Chairman and Strata Manager have an interest making money on the deal – in this case from a captive audience.

    There’s not much time, but Owners in your Plan should certainly read Peter C’s excellent Paper on the subject (link in his post #13) before deciding how to “weight” the pros and cons of what’s being proposed, at least between its sustainable energy and financial benefits.

    Before anything’s then considered at the AGM, those Owners must have before them a full and complete quotation from the current proponents including details of who’s actually doing the installation works, and obtain similarly detailed quotations from others.

    Without the above I’d defer any decision until it’s a properly informed one!