Movement on Feed-in Tariffs is welcome, says SummitSkills
SummitSkills has welcomed movement from the Government on Feed-in Tariffs, with the announcement from DECC about its future plans. Last Thursday (19 January), Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker (pictured) announced that the Government has laid before Parliament draft licence modifications which provide for a reduced FiTs rate of 21p/kW from 1 April 2012 for eligible new PV installations on or after 3 March 2012.
Announcing the latest development, while Government awaits the judgement of the Court of Appeal about the challenge to its proposal to reduce the FiTs from 12 December, Greg Barker MP said: “This is too important for us to sit and do nothing while we wait,” and described the latest announcement as ‘a contingency’.
Keith Marshall OBE, Chief Executive of SummitSkills, said: “While there is uncertainty caused by legal challenges mounted by Friends of the Earth and two solar PV suppliers, it is important that we don’t allow the fledgling industry to stall at this crucial phase in its development. There is no doubt that the FiTs have created growth in the solar PV market and the important thing is to keep up that momentum as far as possible. We welcome the Government’s latest announcement, as it shows that they remain committed to making renewable energy technologies a viable long-term proposition for the UK.”
These draft licence modifications will be subject to the Parliamentary process set out in the Energy Act 2008.The Government intends to announce the results of the consultation which ended in December last year on Feed-in Tariffs by 9 February 2012. This will then be in time for any resulting legislative changes to come into effect from 1 April 2012. It aims to accompany this with proposals for reforming the next phase of the comprehensive review of its FITs scheme, which will also in turn be the subject of further consultation.
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