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Posts Tagged ‘solar pv’

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DECC urged to delay subsidy cuts after solar market crash

New figures show 2MW of solar installed last week, less than half of that recorded this time last year

The government has been urged to delay another round of deep cuts to the feed-in tariff for solar electricity, after new figures revealed the number of businesses and homes installing photovoltaic panels has crashed following the latest cuts to incentives on 1 April.

Weekly government figures revealed that solar firms installed an average of 2MW each week since the start of April, marking a sharp decline from the 4.8MW average capacity installed in the same weeks last year.

This month’s figures are the lowest since January 2011, aside from the week leading up to 1 January 2012, when just 0.4MW of capacity was installed.

They also reveal that only one business-scale installation was completed last week, the lowest level since January 2011.

Industry figures blamed recent cuts to the feed-in tariff for small-scale installations for the collapse in demand.

Insiders said the cuts have created a “boom and bust” industry, as homeowners and businesses rush to meet the feed-in tariff deadlines and then reduce demand once cuts come into effect.

The week leading up to the cuts on 1 April saw 8,911 installations completed, amounting to 15MW. In contrast, just 713 installations were completed during the first week of April, while just 580 installations were registered last week.

April 19, 2012 2:56 pm - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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Shropshire Council approve solar photovoltaic plans

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet approved a plan this week to install up to 30 solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on council owned buildings.

Councillors approved the £2.5 million investment which would produce 3,200 to 39,600 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, and generate annual income for the council under the ‘feed-in tariff’ (FIT) scheme.

For the council this will also achieve a reduction in its carbon emissions footprint, further saving on its ‘carbon tax’ liability under the CRC Energy Efficiency scheme, a Government initiative aimed at improving energy efficiency and cutting emissions in large public and private sector organisations. If all of the proposed schemes gain planning consent and Distribution Network Operators approval, they could cumulatively save 500 tonnes CO2 annually.

The Government had proposed dropping the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) payment by 50%, ie from 43.3 pence per kilowatt hour to 21 pence per kilowatt hour for 4 kilowatt power systems, with effect from 12 December 2011. That proposal has been ruled unlawful by the courts, but it is still expected to be introduced in the near future when the scheme is reviewed again.

February 9, 2012 4:39 pm - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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Government loses appeal bid against High Court solar FiT ruling

The Government has lost its appeal bid against a High Court ruling that its plans to cut the Feed-in Tariff for solar electricity were unlawful.

The judgement handed down this morning by the Court of Appeal means the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will not be able to go ahead with its plans to cut the FiT subsidy for solar installations from December 12 2012 – leaving its policy in tatters. Instead it will have to introduce a ‘plan B’, which means the cuts will be eligible from March 3 2012.

The judgement will be welcomed by Friends of the Earth and the two solar companies – Solarcentury and Homesun – which won the High Court ruling in December that Government plans to slash payments for solar photovoltaic installations completed after December 12 2011 – 11 days before an official consultation into the proposal had closed – were unlawful.
The three Lords of Justices of Appeal announced their reserved judgement this morning following a hearing 10 days ago. It ends weeks of uncertainty for the solar industry, which has been reeling ever since Government plans to cut the tariff were announced at the end of October.

Solar firms were given just six weeks notice to prepare for the cuts, leading to fears of massive job cuts and business closures in the sector. Friends of Earth said DECC’s action had put 29,000 jobs at risk.

‘Plan B’

DECC, which maintains the cuts are necessary to ensure the budget for the FiT is protected, has not ruled out taking further legal action. But it will now introduce its contingency plans announced last week.

January 25, 2012 11:55 am - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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Huhne addresses uncertainty over solar feed-in tariffs with March cut-off date

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has today set out how the government will respond to the imminent court decision on when proposed cuts to feed-in tariff incentives can come into effect.

Following calls from the industry for the government to clarify the level of incentive available for current installations, Huhne this afternoon tabled a Written Ministerial Statement in parliament detailing the government’s plans.

“We continue to stand by our original proposal,” he said, referring to the plan to halve solar incentives for installations completed after December 12 last year. “However, I know that the uncertainty while we await the court’s decision is difficult for the industry.”

He added that to tackle this uncertainty and limit risks to the scheme’s budget in the event that the government’s appeal proves unsuccessful and the court orders a return to the previous feed-in tariff level of 43p/kWh, the government will lay draft licence modifications before parliament that would allow tariffs to be cut from April 1 for all installations completed on or after March 3.

January 19, 2012 4:14 pm - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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Solar cuts will cost Treasury millions and destroy up to 29,000 jobs

New analysis by strategic energy consultants Element Energy, commissioned by Friends of the Earth and the Cut Don’t Kill campaign has revealed that the Government’s planned cut to the Solar PV Feed-in Tariff will destroy up to 29,000 jobs and cause the Treasury to lose up to £230 million a year in tax income.

The research highlights the remarkable fact that this cut will cause the Government to lose sizeable amounts of money through reduced income taxes and National Insurance. Campaigners have described the cut as “utterly counterproductive”.

The estimated current income for the Treasury from employment taxes and VAT alone from the Solar PV sector is £275m – a figure which is even higher once corporation tax and indirect spending are taken into account. The proposal to cut the Feed-in Tariff from 43.3p per kiloWatt hour to 21p per kWh has been billed by Climate Change Minister Greg Barker as a money-saving measure, but Element’s new analysis demonstrates that in fact it would be a costly loss to the Government through reduced tax revenues.

November 24, 2011 9:42 am - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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Solar industry ‘despondent’ as Barker rules out immediate delay to feed-in tariff cuts

Climate minister Greg Barker has today all but ruled out any delay to the proposed changes to solar feed-in tariff incentives due to come into effect from 12 December, arguing he cannot legally change the proposals until the official consultation exercise is complete.

Barker today met with representatives from the solar industry to discuss the government’s controversial plan to halve the level of incentives available to solar installations and bring the changes into effect from next month – a move that, according to the solar industry, will result in widespread job losses and possible bankruptcies.

BusinessGreen understands representatives from across the solar industry argued that while the scale of the proposed cuts would damage their growth prospects, it is the pace of the proposed changes that will cause the greatest damage to the sector.

One industry source said Barker faced a “lot of flak” over the government’s decision to effectively pre-empt the results of the consultation and propose that all installations completed after 12 December will only receive the current level of feed-in tariffs until April next year, at which point they will see the incentives they receive halved.

November 10, 2011 4:30 pm - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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Invest in Solar PV before December 12th to receive maximum Feed-in-Tariff incentive payments for 25 years

Earlier today, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced drastic cuts in the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) scheme which will have an enormous impact upon the Solar industry.

Initially, a budget of £867 million was put in place to provide Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) payments to those investing in renewable energy installations. Due to the healthy payback scheme, Solar PV investment saw a significant uptake with over 100,000 households receiving a payment of 43.3p/kWh for the electricity produced via their Solar investment.

The FiT scheme was introduced to encourage deployment of low carbon electricity generation, in particular by businesses, communities and individuals who are not traditionally engaged in the electricity market.

Up until 12th December 2011, those that invest in Solar PV installations will receive the Feed-in-Tariff payment for 25 years at the existing rate of 43.3p/kWh produced; an impressive rate which has historically been the catalyst for homeowners to make the investment in Solar PV.

Installing Solar before 12th December 2011 – a bright investment

October 31, 2011 4:14 pm - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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Greg Barker addresses the UK solar industry

This afternoon the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker addressed the UK solar industry at the biggest industry gathering in the country. Speaking to an audience of 800 at the Solar Power UK 2011 Conference & Exhibition in Birmingham, the Minister revealed his plans for the future of solar feed-in tariffs.

Despite initial reports that he would reveal the new FiT rates for solar, Barker did not give any indication of when the new rates would be announced, or what they would be. Instead, he talked about his plans to commit to the solar industry in order to drive a successful low-carbon economy.

“I’m personally committed to ensuring that your industry can prosper in the longer term, sustaining green jobs at a critical time for our economy, jobs that people can build a career on,” he explained.

“Over 100,000 homes now generate some of their energy from their own renewable power stations. And to date solar has been by far the most popular technology with consumers. It’s easy to see why: it’s simple, accessible, reliable and fits discreetly into homes and communities.”

October 28, 2011 8:38 am - Posted by admin  | Comments ( 0 )
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