news archive: feed-in tariffs

Government plans to ensure the future of FiTs scheme - 09/02/2012

The Government has announced plans to ensure the future of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme to make it more predictable. Transparency, longevity and certainty are at the heart of the new improved scheme. The reforms will provide greater confidence to consumers and industry investing in exciting renewable technologies such as solar power, anaerobic digestion, micro-CHP, wind and hydro power.

> Read the full statement from DECC

Government loses feed-in tariff appeal – 25/01/2012

On 25th January 2012, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling which declared DECC’s plans to rush through cuts to solar tariffs illegal. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne released a statement stating that the government disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court in an attempt to ensure it can impose cuts to feed-in tariffs on installations completed after December 12 last year.

Huhne stated: “We want to maximise the number of installations that are possible within the available budget rather than use available money to pay a higher tariff to half the number of installations. Solar PV can have strong and vibrant future in UK and we want a lasting FITs scheme to support that future and jobs in the industry.”

> Read more from DECC

Leading FiTs supplier calls for solar gap to be closed - 13/12/2011

SmartestEnergy has urged the Government to close the gap between feed-in tariff (FiT) rates for domestic and commercial scale solar projects. In its response to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultation on solar PV tariffs, the company argues that a single rate for all sizes of project would provide the best environment for long term investment in the sector.

> Read the full press release

Consultation on Feed-In Tariffs for Solar PV published – 31/10/2011

As part of the Feed-In Tariff review, the government has unveiled the ‘Comprehensive Review Phase1: Consultation on Feed-in Tariffs for Solar PV’. The consultation puts forward a number of modifications to tariffs that will affect solar PV installations. These include a reduction of tariffs for all solar PV with 250kW or less total installed capacity, new multi-site tariffs for aggregated solar PV projects and proposals for new energy efficiency requirements. The revised tariffs are planned to be implemented from 1 April 2012 and will affect all solar PV installations that are eligible from 12 December 2011.

> Read the full DECC consultation

Closure of Feed-in Tariff Loophole - 29/09/2011

From the 18th October, the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) rate loophole which allowed building  extensions to pre-existing solar projects will be closed. This decision was made by  the government after a recent a consultation on the loophole. Up until now, applications  for extending installations have received FiTs on the basis of the support level at the time the project was first commissioned. However, under these new rules the rate received will relate to the time the extension was commissioned.

> Read the full DECC consultation here

SmartestEnergy response to revised tariffs  - 15/6/2011

SmartestEnegy has stressed the importance of maintaining confidence in the independent generation sector in the wake of the decision to reduce Feed-in Tariff payments to larger solar projects. Following a review into the FiT scheme, energy minister Greg Barker has said that payments from any solar installation larger than 50kW will be reduced from the current rate from August 1st.

> Read the full press release

Government announces new solar & AD tariffs - 9/6/2011

New generation tariffs for large scale solar and anaerobic digestion under the Feed-in Tariff scheme announced by the Government following a  public consultation exercise.

The Government said the changes would protect protected for householders, small businesses and communities and a range of technologies ensuring scheme longevity.

> Read the full Government press release on the DECC website

Consultation on fast-track review launched - 18/3/2011

On 18th March, Minister of State Greg Barker announced a consultation as part of the fast-track review of Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for small scale low carbon electricity generation.  The consultation covers both solar panels and anaerobic digestion.

> Read the full Ministerial Statement on the DECC website

First review of FiT scheme announced  - 08/2/2011

On 7th February Energy Secretary Chris Huhne launched a comprehensive review of the Feed in Tariffs (FITs) scheme following concerns that large scale solar farms could take too great a share of the total pot of money available to help homes, communities and small businesses benefit from generating their own electricity.