The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced proposals to slash feed-in tariffs for solar schemes by more than half from 1 April 2012. However, under a fast-track scheme, any project registered after 12 December 2011 would be downgraded to the lower rate from April 1, after initially receiving the current higher tariff.
Commenting on the announcement on 31 October, Friends of the Earth's energy campaigner Donna Hume said: "The Government has cast a dark shadow over our thriving solar industry - making such deep and sudden cuts to incentives could put tens of thousands out of work. Greg Barker says he wants to make subsidies fairer - but the new rates mean that unless you have significant savings, you're unlikely to be able to afford solar panels”.
"The Government should be encouraging more people - not fewer - to save money by making their own electricity, freeing us from the stranglehold of the Big Six energy firms who are pushing up our bills,” added Hume. "Thirteen thousand people are urging David Cameron not to kill off clean energy through Friends of the Earth's Final Demand campaign - he must step in to reassure households and businesses."
The news comes just days after Friends of the Earth commented on new government figures released on 27 October 2011 revealing a huge uptake of incentives for small-scale green energy generation over the last three months. "These figures prove there's huge demand for home-grown clean power - but the scheme is threatened with the Treasury's axe, putting thousands of jobs at stake,” warned Friends of the Earth energy campaigner, Paul Steedman.
The UK’s solar industry has taken the unusual step of launching a web-based campaign entitled Cut Don't Kill, to warn the Government that the feed-in tariff cuts would kill the industry and destroy thousands of jobs. “We need to make sure that the Government know about the success of the industry and the consequences of cuts this size, and we need you to help us tell them,” says the campaigners, who highlight that there are 4,000 solar businesses across the UK employing 25,000 people and that solar power “provides energy security, new green jobs and lower energy prices in the long-term”.
“Solar costs a fraction of the amount currently being spent on other energy generation technologies. Feed-in tariffs add less than £1 per year to the average household bill at a time when the Big 6 energy companies are imposing huge increases on their customers,” add the campaigners. “The industry is thriving. As it grows and costs go down, we agree that there should be a gradual reduction in the tariffs. But the Government want to dramatically cut them – a decision that would have catastrophic consequences for the industry and our green future.”
Howard Johns of the Cut Don't Kill campaign was reported by Business Green as having said his campaign was now considering legal action against the government, while Jeremy Leggett, Chairman of Solarcentury, one of the UK’s leading solar companies, has also been quoted as saying there was "no question" the dates were open to a legal challenge.
"The whole industry has contracts, staff, purchase commitments, stock - all have now been massively compromised by this short-term knee jerk," he said. "There is no question that a ‘consultation’ with an end date of 23 December slashing tariffs from 12 December is wide open to legal challenge and we now expect a very serious industry challenge to be mounted."
The feed-in tariff scheme pays households, businesses, councils, hospitals and schools to create clean power through systems like solar panels. It has been hugely successful to date, with the creation of 80,000 new solar installations and 22,000 new jobs over the last two years.
Earlier this month Friends of the Earth launched its new campaign, Final Demand, calling for a public inquiry into the Big Six energy companies and a fair energy system. The giant energy companies are making huge profits by keeping us hooked on expensive fossil fuels. The campaign is asking people to sign its petition to David Cameron.
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