Ofgem has confirmed that all tariff bands <50kW in the feed-in tariff (FiT) will degress by 3.5% come 1 January 2015.

The minimum automatic degression has been enacted after installations in the <50kW bands failed to trigger any automatic degressions. The FiT rates for installations with an eligibility date on or after 1 January 2015 will be as follows:

Description

FiT rate p/kWh

0-4kW

13.88

>4-10kW

12.57

>10-50kW

11.71

>50-100kW

10.34

>100-150kW

10.34

>150-250kW

9.89

>250kW-5MW

6.38

Stand-alone

6.38

Export tariff

4.77

Commenting on the new tariff rates, Paul Barwell CEO of the Solar Trade Association told Solar Power Portal: “Another nine months have gone by and with them another forced degression. It is a concern for the domestic and commercial rooftop market that deployment isn’t stronger, particularly following the anticipated growth for 2014.”

However, Barwell explained that the domestic sector is now showing signs of growth, with 103MW installed in the third quarter of 2014. Barwell added: “This would have been enough to trigger a 3.5% cut in its own right. For the first time in two years we understand from our installer and distributor network that there is likely to be further growth in Q4 prior to the tariff reduction in January.”

The domestic market has been the main driver of solar PV deployment since the introduction of the feed-in tariff but ground-mount solar capacity is now set to overtake rooftop capacity before the end of the year, according to NPD Solarbuzz.

Barwell concluded that more work is required to ensure that the UK’s domestic solar sector reaches its potential, he said: “Government needs to do more to get the market growing, by removing the barriers to growth and changing the policy framework. The STA has put together its ‘Path to Zero Subsidy’, as part of our forthcoming Solar Independence Plan, which was presented during Solar Energy UK. With more details to come in the next edition of Solar Business Focus UK.”

The table below summarises deployment under the feed-in tariff from January to September 2014:

Installations with Declared Net Capacity

3 month deployment period

Number of PV installations

Aggregate capacity deployed in period (kW)

Outcome

Tariff period 

0-10kW

Jan – Mar 2014

30,557

98,447

No degression

1st July to 30 September 2014

>10-50kW

Jan – Mar 2014

1,055

31,886

No degression

1st July to 30 September 2014

> 50kW and Standalones

Jan – Mar 2014

115

59,649

3.5% degression

1st July to 30 September 2014

0-10kW

Apr – June 2014

26,871

83,294

No degression

1st October to 31 December 2014

>10-50kW

Apr – June 2014

686

19,307

No degression

1st October to 31 December 2014

> 50kW and Standalones

Apr – June 2014

158

42,224

No degression

1st October to 31 December 2014

0-10kW

July-Sep 2014

33,231

102,958

3.5% degression.

1st January to 31 March 2015

>10-50kW

July-Sep 2014

844

24,558

3.5% mandatory degression1.

1st January to 31 March 2015

> 50kW and Standalones

July-Sep 2014

67

29,538

No degression

1st January to 31 March 2015

Source: STA

The full solar PV feed-in tariff rates can be found on Ofgem’s site.