After Feed-in tariff reduction figures were leaked, the government was forced to publish its review of solar power in the UK. This has been met with outrage from customers and companies as the proposal is to cut tariff rates for those who do not register for the FIT scheme before December 12.
And the government announcement has faced a backlash of criticism with organisations ready to sue the government because of the changes.
The FITs was due to be cut in April 2012, and now any solar photovoltaic (PV) installations between December and April will receive the higher tariff until March 31. Then from April the tariff will drop to 21p/kWh.
Unless the government scraps its plans to reduce tariffs, the Friends of the Earth organisation say they may start legal action. They claim that cutting the rates will mean projects will be shortened or abandoned completely.
The proposed move seemingly goes against the government’s promises supporting green energy and the move could cost tens of thousands of jobs. Schools, small businesses, community centres and homes will all be affected by the changes.
Howard Johns from the solar industry’s ‘Cut Don’t Kill’ campaign says: “Such deep cuts would kill the UK solar industry stone dead.
“Wiping out 4,000 companies and 25,000 jobs by cutting too deeply would be an appalling waste of economic potential. Our message to the government is cut us, but don’t kill us. We want a sustainable cut that would allow us to survive and deliver the green growth that David Cameron said he was committed to.”
According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, there have been three times as many solar panel installations since the scheme began in April 2010. During this time the cost of a solar installation has dropped around 30%.