Blog Post
Solar Subsidy to Fade Along with Hope for Green Government
Another baffling announcement this week from the guys calling themselves the ‘greenest government ever’.
The renewable energy feed-in tariff scheme is being put under review by the Treasury and Chris Huhne will be required to defend what is now being called an ‘extremely generous’ scheme.
The feed-in tariff (FiT) is being made out to be little more than a Labour hangover by energy minister Charles Hendry, however, it has actually seen enormous success so far (Financial Times).
While the tariff has been popularised by the domestic installation of solar panels, the scheme actually supports the ‘microgeneration’ of any clean energy up to 5MW in output – that is wind, hydro and solar among other forms of renewable energy. It therefore supports individuals, small business as well as co-operatives and organisations.
The FiT has also had been examined for financial viability in a new report entitled Fit for the Future by consultants Arup. They found that ‘there is a greatly improved investment environment for most small-scale renewable energy technologies as a result of the introduction of the feed-in tariff and proposed Renewable Heat Incentive’ (BusinessGreen). The potential has been proven by the success of similar schemes throughout Europe.
Yet investor confidence could tumble if the subsidy is slashed or even tinkered with.
The development defies the pre-election pledges of both the Lib Dems and the Conservative to improve the scheme rather than diminish it.
Domestic solar installation, the poster-child of the scheme, represents one of the cleanest and most plentiful sources of energy we have, and the cheaper alternatives of biomass or nuclear plants are not appealing.
There is an avenue for action in the We Support Solar campaign’s open letter to Chris Huhne, which we hope will strengthen his arm as he goes into discussions with the Treasury. In severe funding cuts, the Treasury has already compromised or disabled a number of green initiatives. It’s time for it to stop, and for the coalition to honour their commitment to being the ‘greenest government ever’.
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