Energy Saving Trust reaction to changes in solar energy subsidies

Plans to slash feed-in tariffs for solar schemes have prompted an angry reaction in Cumbria’s renewable energy sector.

Opposition to the Conservative government’s contentious feed-in tariff proposals has spread to the Houses of Parliament as shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint accused the Tories of undermining solar and onshore wind. But they emphasize an element of the 21st-century energy shift that is often overlooked in debates about our energy future: namely, that tomorrow’s power won’t just be cleaner or more efficient, it is also likely to be less concentrated in the hands of utilities and more distributed among everyday citizens across the country.

Green energy campaigners and renewable firms based in the West expressed their shock at the scale of the subsidy cuts. But at the same time, the cost of renewables is shrinking rapidly, making solar and wind “competitive even without subsidies”, he said.

Cleaning solar panels in Rajasthan © Sujith Ravi, CEEW.

“The proposals in the Comprehensive Feed-in Tariff Review are, quite simply, awful news for homeowners, businesses, communities and those local authorities which have plans in place to develop renewable energy schemes”, said Joss Blamire, Senior Policy Manager at Scottish Renewables.

The cuts will not apply to solar panels that have already been installed, for which the payments have been fixed, but all new installations will be affected from next year.

The cost-cutting measures have been prompted by the rising cost of government support for green energy. “But here in the UK, the government appears to be trying to shut solar down”. “This is the antithesis of a sensible policy for achieving better public value for money while safeguarding the British solar industry”.

In the six years since co-founding Solar Energy World, he has seen the solar-panel installation company grow from just three employees to more than 50. When you plug into SunPort, you’re essentially paying to certify that your energy is solar-powered.

“We regret that proposals to suddenly cut tariffs combined with the threat of closure of the scheme next January will spark a massive market rush”, said Mike Landy from the STA. “In the future, solar will no doubt be free from direct support, but we need a stable pathway to get there”.

The Department also announced Wednesday up to $4 million in funding available to one recipient to organize, manage, conduct, and officiate the Solar Decathlon competitions and the associated educational programs in 2017 and 2019. He says the review is far more drastic than anticipated and it could mean solar panel installations from next year might only be by people looking to power their homes, rather than as an investment opportunity.

“I think we have been pretty clear that there is not any one weather event that can be directly attributed to climate change but there is no denying what scientists tell us, which is that that there is reason to be concerned about these storms getting worse and more violent”, Earnest told reporters Wednesday. They are joined by religious leaders from Kehillah Synagogue and the United Church of Chapel Hill and from the N.C. Interfaith Power and Light, a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of religious groups on climate change issues.

“Instead of championing fossil fuels, the Government should focus on developing the UK’s huge renewable energy potential”.

The consultation warned: “Government proposes that the only alternative would be to end generation tariffs for new applicants as soon as legislatively possible, which we expect to be January 2016, while keeping the export tariff as a route to market for the renewable electricity they generate”.