The national initiative is designed to overcome the high cost, large size and expensive solar tracking systems of existing concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology, and so encourage the wider adoption of solar energy as part of the Obama administration’s effort to increase the use of renewable fuels.
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“Our support has driven down the cost of renewable energy significantly”, said a DECC spokesman.
The 60,000 panels would have produced 15-20 MWs, which is enough to power 5,000 households a year and would have been Hamilton’s largest ground-mounted solar project.
The review has been in the pipeline for some time and experts predict it will throw the British solar industry ‘into turmoil’.
In order to reach our climate change targets it’s important for everyone in society to understand the good which comes from adopting renewable energy.
If costs arent limited to £100m by 2018/19, the document says “the only alternative would be to end generation tariffs for new applicants as soon as legislatively possible, which we expect to be January 2016”. What we have achieved is a template for many more green energy projects in the Haldimand Tract.
Six miles west of Inverness, Kirkhill District Amenities Association spent £17,500 installing 22, 180-watt solar panels on their community hall’s south facing roof, helping it reduce its power bills by around £1,700 per year.
“We will provide a detailed response shortly, once we have considered the proposals in more detail”.
“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. “This is the antithesis of a sensible policy for achieving better public value for money”.
From California to China, the world is reaping the benefits of a solar revolution, yet incredibly in the UK David Cameron is actually trying to shut rooftop solar down.
Subsidy schemes could be closed to new entrants from the start of next year. This process allows the solar energy gathered when the homeowner is away, and not drawing power, to be re-sold by the power company.
“The government’s focus should be on supporting this “people power” and reducing consumers’ exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices – not simply cutting costs”. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Obama prepare to meet again in September, driving clean energy development in both major economies will clearly be a priority on the agenda between these two countries as well as moving toward an agreement in Paris during the climate talks at the end of this year.
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So, leaving aside the democratically questionable manner in which the Conservatives have once again launched proposals that promise to deal a serious blow to hundreds of green businesses just weeks after they failed to make even a passing appearance in their election manifesto, there is a case for scaling back or even axing the feed-in tariff – a case ministers could have made themselves if they had deigned to accompany this consultation with a statement. Thousands of jobs are likely to be lost, emissions savings will go begging, an innovative and modern industry that is close to being able to operate without subsidy will be badly damaged, and all for what amounts to a rounding error in both national and household accounts.
