What is the payback period for a specific renewable installation?
A meaningful payback period can only… A meaningful payback period can only be calculated if future gas and oil prices are predictable, but the volatility of the last few years demonstrates amply that they are not. Some commentators are prepared to base their payback analyses on a simple extrapolation of current prices, but set against a rising trend in prices this will consistently overestimate the payback period. The important point to note is that once installed, there are no running costs for solar systems, very low costs for geothermal systems and for those areas where wood is plentiful, biomass is likely to be much more cost effective than relying upon imported gas or oil. For example, the cost of operating a wood pellet boiler is now between 70% and 90% less than for an oil-fired boiler.
