There will also be a review of the scheme that pays householders for solar panels on their roofs later in the summer.
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Energy Secretary Amber Rudd was criticised yesterday for failing to declare that her brother is a powerful lobbyist.
“Let’s get this straight, in the RO [renewables obligation], which is the solar farm’s main support subsidy, it’s costing about three pounds per annum on people’s energy bills – it’s a tiny amount when you compare it with other types of energy, like nuclear for example”.
“This decision risks affecting progress with deployment and cost reductions, delaying the point at which solar could be cost competitive, and damaging broader investor confidence”, he said.
The measures were tougher than expected, with government proposals including the removal of a guaranteed level of subsidy for coal-powered plants that were to be converted to green energy. Leonie Greene, head of external relations at STA, pointed out that solar only makes up just 6% of the Renewables Obligation budget.
Headquartered in the Bronx, NY, Green Street Solar Power is a solar financing and installation company that provides solar solutions to residential, commercial and government customers across the Northeast region.
The UK government also said prior to, and after, the general election win in May that it will support the shale gas and fracking industry in the UK, especially in the north of England, despite some public and political opposition.
Critics of the renewables industry argue that taxpayer support for projects such as feed-in tariffs have “exploded” in recent years and contributed to increases in household bills that are unsustainable.
“Nuclear has an expensive history the government seems incapable of learning lessons from, while renewables offer sustainable cleaner energy with thousands of jobs”.
“There is no pledge in the Conservative manifesto about cutting support for solar, so we are disappointed by this move”, the Association said.
It also highlights the importance of maintaining support so that the majority of the industry, which includes many small and medium enterprises, will be able to reach grid-parity.
“I’m going to ensure that people’s bills are kept down in terms of this extra subsidy for renewable energy”.
The government is rumoured to be announcing cuts to solar subsidies tomorrow at 7am.
“This cut would further undermine Britain’s commitment to meeting our climate change targets and deepen our addiction to dirty fossil fuels”.
The solar subsidies add around £3 to bills, she said: ” It all adds up doesn’t it?
The new report acknowledges the need to curb subsidies and sets out a series of scenarios for getting new solar projects to a point where they can be built without subsidy.
“We recognise that Government wants to shift the emphasis to larger solar rooftops, but we have explained to the Department that these are just five per cent of the UK market”.
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And contrary to government statements, she says it’s already saving consumers money: “Our research shows that solar reduces wholesale prices by displacing high cost gas fired power generation during the day – the government is taking a one-sided approach by not taking this into account.”
