Solar Markets & Finance

TESCO will start selling solar panels this week, leading a stampede of retailers aiming to cash in on a controversial new subsidy scheme.

We are very concerned by your report of a possible delay to the introduction of the feed-in tariff scheme due to problems preparing the legislation, and we urge the government to do everything it can to ensure the scheme starts on time next month (Feed-in tariff delay alarms energy sector, 4 March).

The renewable power industry has warned that it needs £500m from the government over the next two years if it is to help ministers meet energy and climate change targets. More than half of the cash is for offshore wind power generation, while another part is required if wave and tidal power is to move from experimental to commercial application, the industry said in a budget submission out tomorrow .

The government will come under fire tomorrow from a renewable energy sector increasingly concerned about potential delays in the implementation of a "feed-in tariff" meant to kickstart a domestic green power revolution.

If the government offered to pay you £1,000 a year for the next 25 years, in return for an up-front investment of £12,500, you'd snap it up in a second. Well, that's pretty much the deal on offer this week after the government finally revealed what it will pay those who install electricity generating solar panels – in and around their homes – through the new "Feed-in Tariffs" (FITs).

Today, after many months of delay, the government finally announced its detailed plans for the feed-in tariff. It is a huge disappointment for all of us who want to see communities taking control of their energy production.

The government drew back from a step-change in its proposed levels of support scheme for small-scale renewable energy schemes amid attacks by the Conservatives and campaigners for a lack of ambition.

The government will tomorrow publish the long-awaited levels of remuneration it will offer for renewable energy generated by households and communities and fed back into the national grid.

The public overwhelmingly support a much more ambitious scheme to push renewable energy for homes and communities, a new poll shows today ahead of a key government announcement next week.

Disappointment at the outcome of climate talks in Copenhagen (Financial, 15 January) must not distract from the urgent job of building a low-carbon economy in the UK. We believe the generation of small-scale renewable energy can make a substantial contribution to this objective, but are concerned by the lack of ambition of the government's proposed feed-in tariff scheme. This currently aims to generate just 2% of the UK's electricity from small-scale renewable sources by 2020.