Number of photovoltaic providers ‘sufficient’

A sufficient number of providers have registered for the “PVs for All” programme, energy committee spokesman George Tsiamettis said on Monday.

Over 35 providers have been listed and have been uploaded to the relevant platform, which encompasses both PV installers and thermal roof insulation technicians.

“There is no lack of participating PV technicians despite previous issues and concerns,” Tsiamettis said, however, the number of available thermal roof insulation providers needs to be bumped up.

As far as being able to implement the latest PV scheme, Tsiamettis said the number was quite sufficient to cover demand, as 3,000 applicants could promptly be served by 20 installers, which has happened to date.

Providers are to offer a minimum seven-year guarantee, according to the new scheme, both for PVs and thermal roofing, the spokesman said, noting that the upgrades themselves have an expected lifespan of 15-20 years.

“Since many companies already offer a guarantee for the lifecycle of the products, [there is no reason] why anyone would refuse to offer this,” he added.

The platform is expected to be opened to the public within a few weeks and there has been great interest from consumers, Tsiapettis said.

He advised interested buyers to carefully do their market research since there was a wide range of prices on offer by participating companies.

An average scenario could involve installation of a 4KW system, which should cost up to €5,000. Of this total, €1,000 would come from the state subsidy and the remaining amount would be repaid in installments by the consumer on their electricity bill.