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The solar industry has hit out against plans by the government to cut support for solar PV installations by up to 25 per cent under the Renewables Obligation (RO), describing the proposed levels of reductions as “too big and too soon.”

The Solar Trade Association (STA) said plans to slash support from 2 Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) per MWh until April 2015 to 1.5 ROCs/MWh next year for the technology are unfair and not in the public interest as they will hold back a cost-effective technology.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) released its consultation levels on banded support for solar PV under the RO – the government’s main financial mechanism for large-scale renewable electricity generation – on Friday (7 September) afternoon, citing a “cautious approach” to levels because the pace of falling solar PV costs had been “consistently underestimated.”

But the STA’s CEO Paul Barwell said the new levels – which are considerably lower than those set out in last October’s RO Banding Review – meant the industry was once again having the rug pulled from under it.

“The proposed 25 per cent cut is too big and too soon. We understand DECC have concerns about how solar will interact with other renewable technologies under the RO, and how it will influence the budget, but deliberately under-rewarding solar to curtail the industry is definitely not the solution,” he said.

“This is not a fair proposal and it is not in the public interest to constrain a cost-effective technology.”

The STA also expressed concern over DECC’s failure to decide whether to issue a separate consultation on plans to exclude solar PV projects below 5MW from the RO.

It said that it is “vital” that both consultations are considered together to ensure a “coherent and ambitious framework for solar.”

The Association is setting up a Large Scale PV Group which will include installers, developers and investors in order to provide detailed feedback to government on the consultation, but added it was particularly concerned by mid-sized schemes, a fledgling area of the sector.

Seb Berry, Head of Public Affairs at Solarcentury, said he objected to the consultation as it failed to provide certainty or confidence for solar PV developers.

“The sector will have to wait until the end of November for certainty on the ROC rate from April 2013 and beyond,” he told E2B Pulse. “With large-scale projects typically having a nine months lead time, DECC is already creating an entirely avoidable hiatus in the market for at least the first quarter of the next financial year, regardless of the outcome of the consultation.”

He added: “The proposed 1.5 rate flies in the face of all of the advice that we and other companies involved in the large-scale PV sector have given.  If DECC is serious about its 22GW ambition and serious about the role that solar parks and other large installations can play in delivering that, it makes no sense at all to propose the RO equivalent of a feed-in tariff rate that is of no interest to investors.”

The proposed changes would apply to projects accredited under the RO scheme on or after 1 April 2013, and responses to the consultation are open until 19 October.

By James Kershaw. Originally posted on E2B Pulse.

Welcoming news that Sainsbury’s has installed 69,500 new solar panels across 169 stores in the UK, becoming host to the largest solar array in Europe, Friends of the Earth Director of Policy and Campaigns Craig Bennett said:

“This major solar investment will make Sainsbury’s a greener grocer and gives a significant boost to the UK’s renewable energy sector.

“Firms across the UK are waking up to the business benefits of using clean British energy from the sun, wind and waves to reduce our reliance on increasingly expensive fossil fuels.

“It’s little surprise that 85 per cent of the public want the Government to force the energy companies to use more renewable energy and less fossil fuels – if we do this and cut waste it will bring down bills in the long term and create new UK industries and jobs.

“The Government must do more to reap the UK’s huge potential for renewable energy – their new Energy Bill must aim for a carbon-free electricity sector by 2030.”

Following the release of the Government’s response to the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) consultation and the news that it has just launched a consultation on the budget management and environmental sustainability of the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), Tom Vosper, Head of Climate Consulting, says:

“The Government has clearly listened to feedback, especially in regards to support for the community sector. However it’s clear from its comments that the Government understands there are issues still to be dealt with, primarily the difficulty faced in researching and developing projects due to the associated costs. Removing the requirement for achieving an EPC level D or above will certainly help community organisations to progress worthwhile projects with more certainty.

“Despite the increased level of administration, we also welcome the preliminary accreditation system as it will give confidence to project developers. However as this preliminary accreditation system will mainly benefit larger individual systems, it won’t entirely reverse the slow-down in the PV market because a large amount of the investment in this sector has come in the form of “funds” for multiple installations rather than one-off projects.

“We believe some of the available heat technologies would benefit from a similar preliminary accreditation system, and would like to see one introduced for the non-domestic RHI.”

Welcoming an announcement by Energy Minister Greg Barker today (Thursday 24 May 2012) setting out a clear plan for solar power to 2020, Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said:

“After a year and a half of crippling uncertainty, the sun is starting to shine again on the solar industry.

Greg Barker’s 2020 vision will allow solar firms to get back on their feet, protect jobs and plan for the future – but to avoid more fiascos any mechanism for setting subsidy payments must be managed independently of Government.

The Energy Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create jobs and tackle high fuel bills by switching our electricity supplies to clean British energy – but current plans will leave the nation hooked on costly gas and risky nuclear power.

Developing the nation’s huge renewable energy potential will help drive us out of recession – the Government must make it easier for communities, schools and hospitals to plug into clean power.”

This week, Friends of the Earth and the Federation of Small Businesses wrote to Energy Secretary Ed Davey, urging him to end the uncertainty over the feed-in tariff that is hampering the solar industry, and to set out a clear plan to 2020 that enables the sector to grow steadily and with confidence.

 

Originally published on www.foe.co.uk