The UK solar power sector has reacted angrily to a government announcement that feed-in tariffs for community-scale solar power projects are to be cut back, in favour of more favourable rates for household installations.
Andrew Lee, Head of International Sales at Sharp Solar, Europe’s biggest solar manufacturer, which based in the UK, said, “We are disappointed at the government’s decision to go ahead with the proposed changes to the feed-in-tariff. During these difficult economic times [the] announcement risks stifling job creation in an industry which has the potential to flourish in the UK.”
Lee said the limit of 50KW is extremely low and will affect community projects and small businesses. The solar industry has only just started to see real growth and the announcement will halt this growth in its tracks, he said.
The announcement comes after a public consultation on large scale solar and anaerobic digestion, following initial evidence that the number of large scale solar projects in the planning system to be much higher - for which read more costly - than anticipated.
Greg Barker, Energy and Climate Change Minister said that without the cut the scheme would be overwhelmed.
The decision was taken as the European Photovoltaic Industry Association claimed solar photovoltaics are on the road to full competitiveness with other energy source. Later this year the Association will launch a new study “Solar photovoltaics competing in the energy sector” showing that, under the right policy conditions, photovoltaic competitiveness could be achieved across the European Union by 2020 in all market segments. The Association also says that as photovoltaics get more competitive and increases its role in the future energy mix, it is becoming more attractive to investors.
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