Rising electricity prices encourage Lithuanians to employ the sun

Rising electricity prices encourage Lithuanians to employ the sun

Andžejus Gabrunas, a representative  of Civinity’s  company Inservis, which is the largest groups of building maintenance and engineering solutions companies in the Baltic States, notices an increased need for businesses and individuals to purchase a solar power plant.

Notonly residents, but also businesses are worried about rising electricity prices. Everyone is looking for alternatives to save electricity, and one of them is a solar power plant. According to expert data, a solar power plant can help withreducing the electricity bill by as much as  80 percent.

“Anxiety about rising electricity prices encourages Lithuanians to take an interest and look for new ways to save.  Both residents and businesses are actively interested in solar power plants. If we noticed solar power plants more often on individual residential buildings, today they are increasingly being installed by companies.  After all, the benefits of the sun can be enjoyed by everyone.  And with proper employment, it can save up to 80% every month consumed electros,” says Andžejus Gabrunas.

For those who live in their own homes, the expert advises installing a solar power plant on the roof or rooftop, instead of roofing material, on the facade, or near the house on the ground. For those who live in an apartment building, there are two options: install a solar power plant on the roof of an apartment building and generate energy that will be used for the general needs of the house, such as lighting stairwells, basements, underground parking spaces for cars, courtyards or an elevator.  Or buy a part of the solar power plant in a remote solar park, and use the generated electricity for your own personal needs.  According to the interlocutor, it is most effective to install the power plant, if the possibilities allow, on the roof of your building.

“The electricity produced and consumed from time to time does not cost people anything extra.  If the power plant is remote,the generated electricity will be transferred to the grid before it arrives at the point of consumption. For the transfer of electricity from the networks to the premises of consumers” “ESO” applies, a fee of a few cents per kilowatt, an additional fee, and the price depends on the chosen “ESO” plan. By consulting representatives of our own homes and businesses, we first of all help the client to find out what power plants for the building requirea and whether the technical structures of the building are suitable for the installation of a solar power plant. We look at the customer’s annual electricity consumption and make calculations about what power of a solar power plant is needed. According to the statistics of solar consumption in Lithuania, a solar power plant with an installed capacity of  1 kW produces on average about 1000 kWh of electricity per year. ” – emphasizes A. Gabrunas.

The company “Inservis” providing a consulting, installation and maintenance services of solar power plants can also come and assess the condition of the already installed power plant.  During the audit, the design of the  solar power plant, inspection with drone photographs and other measurements are reviewed. After the audit, an inspection report is drawn up and submitted to the sponsor.

“During the audit, we thoroughly check the design solutions of the solar power plant, conduct a visual inspection of the modules with drone photographs, inspection of cable channels and cable structures, measurements of the insulation resistance of the grounding circuit and circuits, and inspection of screw connections.  In addition to audit work, we help our customers to receive state support for solar power plants and their installation. ” – details the representative of Inservis.

According to “Inservis” calculations, with the support of the European Union, the investment in a solar power plantdepends on the size of the annual energy consumed by the customer and the capacity of the installed power plant. However, according to the available data, the payback time of the power plant is about 5 years.  It is importantto note that in order to benefit from EU support for the installation of a solar power plant, it is mandatory to comply with the requirements of the Environmental Project Management Agency.

“Support is available to anyone who wants to install or buy a part of a remote solar power plant. To date, the amount of support is EUR 323 per kW. Businesses are subject to other support criteria.  And solar electrical paybacks depend on electricity consumption. In other words, the more electricity is consumed and the higher its cost, the faster the investment in the installation of electricity will pay off.” says A. Gabrunas.

Those who want to install a solar power plant are interested not only in the support, in the process  of installing a solar power plant, but also in obtaining the necessary permits. Natural persons wishing to install a solar power plant must fill out an application from the producing user and implement all the technical conditions specified by “ESO”. It is also important to pay attention to the power of the electrical input of the building, it must be no less or for installing the desired power of the solar power plant. For example, if we plan to install a 10 kW power plant, and the input power is 8 kW, then it is mandatory to increase the existing power of the inlet.

Often, the installation process does not depend on contractors or installers, but on the distribution system operator. With an increase in the need for the installation of solar power plants, one has to wait longer for the technical conditions of connection. According to the data of “Inservis”, on average, it takes about 3 months to obtain all the necessary technical conditions for installing a solar power plant on a private house, and the installation work depends on the occupancy of the installing company. If customers decide to purchase a part of a solar power plant in a solar park, the requirements of the consumer producing “ESO” must also be met. But at the moment you will also have to wait in line, because there is a shortage of solar parks in Lithuania.

In the future, the need for sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions will only grow, so it is worthwhile for everyone to take care of energy from renewable sources.  True, in order not to cause additional troubles, it is very important to choose experienced and legally certified contractors for the construction of  power plants. The course and efficiency of the processes of the project being prepared, the quality of the positive equipment and work, the maintenance and maintenance of the power plant will depend on the contractor.