The cost of going Green - is it worth it? Options

[spartacus]

June 2007
Newbury Town Council announce the switching on of 26 solar panels in an effort to Go Green. At a not-insignificant cost of £28,000 it is anticipated that the panels will help pay for themselves by selling electricity back to the national grid.
http://www.newbury.gov.uk/solarpanelswitchon.htm

(Wind forward to July 2009)
To date the panels have earned the princely sum of £70 annually by selling back to the National Grid.
They HAVE apparently saved approx £620 in energy bills (surely this is difficult to quantify because other measures such as low energy bulbs and other initiatives would have been brought in too don't you think?)

Based on the report in the NWN, NTC is looking at a pay back period of 17 years....
(given the sort of summer we've been having the solar energy repayment may take 27 years...)

Chances of the panels lasting 17 years without need for replacement? (Zilch)
Chances of the panels being declared obsolete, in need of 'upgrade' or a major (and costly) overhaul within the next 5 years? (High)

It's all about 'saving the planet' I know, but while it's still so expensive then as far as the common man is concerned it's just token gestures made by local govt... And I'd question whether this has been a wise use of tax-payers funds in truth....


Anyway, pass me that 100W bulb would you......