Energy Minister Greg Barker has promised to draw up new plans to support community solar PV schemes that have been affected by the Government's decision to bring forward cuts to the Feed-in Tariff on December 12.
In a letter this afternoon to ClickGreen, the Minister promised to look again at drawing up new rules to support community-based green energy schemes under the Feed-in Tariff programme.
And he said that although the December 12 cut-off date is still subject to consultation, the proposed deadline still gave consumers “whose projects are well advanced 6 weeks in which to finalise in order to get the higher rate of tariff”.
On the day that Carillion Energy announced its entire 4,500-strong workforce was now subject to redundancy consultation following the Feed-in Tariff cut December deadline, Mr Barker claimed that the current DECC proposals could actually create up to 10,000 new, full-time jobs in the solar PV sector in the three years to 2014-15
Describing fresh plans for community schemes, Mr Barker confirmed: “I am considering whether more could be done to support genuine community projects in the FiTs scheme.
“I will provide more detail on this in the second consultation on the comprehensive review, which I will publish around the end of the year.”
The letter, written in response to ClickGreen's 'Save our Solar' campaign, described how his department were forced to “act urgently” to bring forward the initial April 1 deadline to December 12.
“I do realise that this has been a difficult time for installers of solar PV in the microgeneration industry,” the Energy Minister wrote. “I can assure you that the Coalition remains committed to the FiTs scheme and to solar power specifically as part of a growing and dynamic decentralised energy economy.
“I appreciate your concerns about our proposals outlined in the consultation, but I have not brought forward these proposals without careful consideration.”
The Energy Minister's letter said officials needed to act urgently because:
* “We must be financially responsible – The FITs scheme is paid for by all consumers through their electricity bills. I would be remiss if I did not act in the interests of bill payers to protect the budget”
* “The rates of return currently being enjoyed by the industry are unsustainable – Some are more than double that originally intended. The cost of the average PV system has fallen by at least 30% since the FITs scheme started and we are aware of reports that the global cost of PV modules may have fallen by as much as 70% since 2008”
* “I want to safeguard the future of the scheme itself – if I did not act now, the evidence from deployment figures suggests that the budget could be exhausted within the next few months. If that were to happen then I would be forced to bring forward proposals to close the scheme in April 2012 rather than reform it now. I want a FITs scheme that encourages the widest possible deployment and that is set up to react to changes in the market in a flexible and predictable way.”
Addressing the specific points raised by ClickGreen readers and supporters of the 'Save our Solar' campaign, Mr Barker wrote:
* “12 Dec deadline – The proposed reference date of 12 December is still subject to consultation. The proposed approach gives those whose projects are well advanced 6 weeks in which to finalise in order to get the higher rate of tariff. Those who have already installed solar PV and are registered for FITs will not be affected”
* “New tariff rates – The proposed new tariffs will still provide a rate of return of 4.5-5%: equivalent to that provided when the FITs scheme was introduced, and still a very reasonable return given the current economic climate”
* “Energy efficiency – I want to ensure that PV is considered as part of a whole building approach which prioritises energy efficiency. It cannot be right to encourage consumers to rush to install what are still expensive electricity generating systems in their homes before they have thoroughly explored all of the sensible options for reducing their energy consumption first”
* “Community schemes – I am considering whether more could be done to support genuine community projects in the FITS scheme. I will provide more detail on this in the second consultation on the comprehensive review, which I will publish around the end of the year”
* “Small and medium businesses – I want to protect the FITs scheme for homes, small businesses and communities. Our priority is to put the solar industry on a sustainable footing so that it can remain a successful and prosperous part of the green economy, and doesn't fall victim to boom and bust”
* “Jobs – We estimate that 1,000 – 10,000 additional full time equivalent jobs could be created in this sector in the three years to 2014-15 under our proposals. This estimate relates to solar PV installations only and does not account for jobs that could be created as a result of the proposed energy efficiency requirement.”
Mr Barker concluded: “I do appreciate the challenges facing those affected by the proposed changes, but I hope this goes some way to explaining why we need to act now and in the proposed way.”
Stellios Mavrakis, London around 5 months ago