Five UK solar developers have launched legal proceedings against the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) regarding the removal of grandfathering rights under the Renewables Obligation.
The Institute for Public Policy Research’s feed-in tariff expert Jimmy Aldridge discusses this morning’s announcement and what it means for the UK’s solar industry.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed that the Renewables Obligation (RO) for new solar PV capacity of 5MW and below is to be closed a year early on 1 April 2016.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s impact assessment accompanying today’s feed-in tariff announcement has revealed that it expects there to be 5.2GW less solar deployed by 2020 and as many as 18,700 jobs to be lost in the industry.
Reactions to the release of the government’s decision to cut the domestic feed-in tariff rate by 65% and introduce quarterly deployment caps have started to pour.
RM Capital has announced that it will continue to offer finance to solar projects in January 2016 in spite of the dangers posed by government plans to cut subsidy for renewables projects.
Domestic solar installations up to 10kW in size will receive a feed-in tariff rate of 4.39p/kWh when the new rates come into force after the Department of Energy and Climate Change published the eagerly anticipated results of its consultation.
The UK government is opposed to the European Union’s minimum import price (MIP) on solar modules and has lobbied the European Commission on the matter, energy secretary Amber Rudd has confirmed.
Leading figures from the UK solar industry have rounded on George Osborne and claimed he is responsible for the “incredible destruction” being experienced throughout the renewables sector.
