A year ago, Hilda Mau Vikan and Morten Vikan invested in solar panels for the house, thinking they would benefit from them.
It is no coincidence that Hilda Mao Vikan and her family acquired solar cells a year ago.
– In December 2022, we received an invoice for NOK 14,000. She adds: We then decided to see if there was anything we could do Title newspaper.
– Not worth it or not worth it
After researching, they came to the conclusion that solar panels could be a great solution to reduce electricity bills. They first received an offer for a solar panel and installation for NOK 250,000, which would have been cheaper with support from InnovaInnovaEnova is transforming Norway into a low-emission society..
After further investigation, they ended up with a price of around NOK 100,000. They found that there are many advantages to investing, despite the price.
– The electricity supplier is now making changes that make the benefits much lower. “Suddenly, solar panels don't pay off as much anymore, at least not financially,” Vikan says.
When she installed the panels on the roof of the house in Trondheim, according to Vikan, only a few electricity suppliers offered some form of solar accounting. Kilowatt hours can be stored there which can be withdrawn later when electricity prices rise. For the family, the choice fell on Fjordkraft.
Now the electricity supplier is facing more competition, so they change some conditions. Among other things, there will be an increase in prices, and consumers will have a cap on the number of kilowatt-hours they can store in the bank.
– It's very frustrating when you invest so much money in something and there are such big changes in one year.
Fewer bills are required
The change that will mean the most to the Vikan family is that they can no longer save what they want in a Solar Account. Since 2019, Fjordkraft has had a scheme where customers can save what they want, then deduct it from their electricity bill.
This way, the family can save during the spring, summer and fall, and then take it out in the winter.
– That's why we installed solar panels. To get lower bills in the winter, Vikan says.
It shows an overview of how much solar panels store during the year, and in the months from November to February it is close to 0 kWh.
– In Trøndelag, it's pitch black outside in winter, plus snow on the boards, so we rely on being able to use what we saved in the summer.
And with the 2,000 kWh cap in the bank, they will barely last until December.
-If we had known this a year ago, we would never have been able to install solar panels. It is no longer financially sound.
– I do not think that we will earn what we spent on solar panels, says the man Morten Vikan.
220 thousand roofs must be filled with solar cells
Vikan quickly decided to terminate the agreement with Fjordkraft and switch to another company Svorka. Vikan sells the electricity they don't use to Svorka.
“We don’t get a solar account with them because we didn’t buy and install solar cells from them,” Vikan says.
She thinks it's a shame that they're not allowed to use solar accounts with anyone other than Fjordkraft.
They have now ordered a solar battery, allowing them to store what they want, take it out and use or sell it when it suits them, but they are concerned that new rules and changes will soon emerge.
Recently written Class struggle NHO Elektro believes that solar power must be built on 220,000 rooftops by 2030 in order to reach the solar goal.
In the revised national budget, the government and SV agreed on an energy production target of eight terawatt-hours by 2030, while today it is 0.5 terawatt-hours.
-If that happens, conditions must improve. You should be able to save as much as you want, and you should be able to use solar accounts from other suppliers, says Vikan.
Energy Minister Terje Aasland (AFP) told Klassekampen that providing more support for solar cells is a top priority.
We must ensure a regulatory framework that facilitates sharing and connecting electricity to the grid and investing in solar energy.
Home solar development has declined by about 75 percent compared to last year, according to Insider. Class struggle.
Aasland still has hope they can reach the 2030 target.
– Market conditions make it necessary to change
Fjordkraft's communications director, John Vaag Ekland, recognizes that the changes are frustrating for customers.
Solconto has not changed since its launch in 2019. He says there are now market conditions that make it necessary to make changes.
He says there are two main things that have changed since the launch.
– There are more excess customers and the number is expected to rise, even if sales in the private market are slower at the moment. In recent years, we have also experienced very large price variations, which gives us increased risks as a solar account provider.
He explains that in order to be able to continue the scheme, they see themselves having to make adjustments that reduce the risks.
One of the modifications made by Fjordkraft is to put a cap on the number of kilowatts that users can save.
– The time limit made it possible to save a large number of kilowatt-hours. Ekland says that if many customers deduct a large number of kilowatt-hours from the bill at the same time, when the difference between the production price and the withdrawal price is large, it will amount to a significant cost.
He says a large number of their residential customers with rooftop solar won't reach the max, because they don't have that much excess production over the course of a year.
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