The UK Government appears to have reinstated the April 1 deadline for a cut in the solar PV Feed-in Tariff rate in a new renewable energy report submitted to the European Commission this week.
The Government's omission of the December 12 cut-off was buried deep within the “First Progress Report on the Promotion and Use of Energy from Renewable Sources for the United Kingdom”, which was published yesterday.
The report states that following the launch on October 31 of a consultation to reduce the size of cash subsidies for solar PV, the changes are now “proposed to be implemented from 1st April 2012”.
However, in a statement DECC confirmed: "The section refers to the current review of the GB Feed-in Tariffs scheme, including the recent consultation on proposed changes to tariffs for solar PV which closed on 23 December 2011.
"No decisions have yet been taken on the outcome of that consultation, including the proposal for new tariffs to be implemented from 1 April 2012, but to apply to all new installations with an eligibility date on or after 12 December 2011.
"We will publish our response to the consultation on FITs for solar PV shortly once we have analysed responses and once the outcome of the appeals process with the current judicial review on FITs is clear."
The DECC consultation had originally proposed a December 12 cut-off date, with all installations after this date allowed a temporary window of the higher 43.3p/kWh rate, a move which was ruled unlawful by the High Court last week.
This week's DECC report adds: “The objective of FITs is to incentivise the deployment of small scale low carbon electricity generation by individuals, householder, organisations, businesses and communities. It supports solar photovoltaic, hydro, anaerobic digestion and wind projects up to 5MW and microCHP installations up to 2kW.
“Following nearly three times as much solar PV as originally projected registering for the FIT, and a fall of at least 30% in PV costs, the Government reduced tariffs for new 50kW to 5MW and all stand-alone PV installations from 1st August 2011, and launched a consultation on 31st October 2011, following which new solar PV tariffs for smaller-scale installations are proposed to be implemented from 1st April 2012.
“A second consultation will be published around the end of 2011 to include proposals for new tariffs for non-PV technologies.”
The report was published on December 29 to update the European Commission on the UK's ambitions to achieve its low-carbon energy goals with a target of supplying renewable energy to meet 15% of demand from across the electricity, heat and transport sectors by 2020.
Its release coincided with a second report that revealed more evidence of the economic benefits of renewable energy as Cabinet Secretary Chris Huhne reaffirmed the coalition’s commitment to meeting EU low-carbon targets.
Latest research from DECC shows that so far this financial year, companies have announced plans for almost £2.5billion worth of investment in renewable energy projects in the UK, with the potential to create almost 12,000 jobs across the country.
The separate report to the European Commission on renewable energy progress that showed that the UK:
* Achieved a 27% increase in renewable energy consumption from 42.6TWh in 2008 to 54TWh in 2010 - representing 3.3% of total energy consumed.
* Increased wind generation by 46% from 7TWh in 2008 to 10.2TWh in 2010, and in 2010 achieved 5GW of offshore and onshore wind capacity; and
* Saw a threefold increase in the use of biofuels in transport from 1% of total road transport fuel supply in 2007/8 to 3.33% in 2010.
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, said: “Renewable energy is not just helping us increase our energy security and reduce our emissions. It is supporting jobs and growth across the country, and giving traditional industrial heartlands the opportunity to thrive again.
“Our renewable target is less demanding than other EU member states, but the effect is bringing real jobs and investment.
“I do not want the UK to be left behind by turning our back on the green economy. The agreement to negotiate a global deal secured at Durban has reinforced major nations’ commitment to cutting carbon. We cannot afford to stand alone while the world wises up.”
Cathy Debenham, Sidmouth around 4 months, 2 weeks ago