Solar Together scheme
Chichester District Council is teaming up with councils across Sussex and group-buying experts, iChoose, as part of 'Solar Together Sussex'. This is a new scheme, which offers homeowners and both small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to purchase high quality solar panels at a competitive price.
Households that are thought to be suitable for this group-buying scheme will be contacted by letter from September 21 and invited to take part, although anyone who is interested in joining the scheme can register their interest from September 1 until October 5.
The scheme works as follows:
Registration: The homeowner registers their interest in the scheme for free at: Solar Together (opens new window). They provide information about their roof.
Auction: A supplier 'auction' will be held on October 6, when approved solar suppliers will bid to supply solar panels to all of the households who have registered their interest, with the most competitive bid winning. The group-buying scheme provides an economy of scale, so the more people that register, the better the deal should be for each household.
Personal recommendation: From October 26, those who have signed up will be emailed a personal recommendation and quote. This is based on their roof details, and will be provided by the supplier whose quote offered the best value for money at the end of the auction.
Decision: Those who have signed up to the scheme will then need to decide if they want to accept the recommendation and quote. There is no obligation to continue.
Installation: If the recommendation and quote is accepted, the winning supplier will be in contact to survey the roof and set an installation date.