Following the removal and cuts to subsidies over several years, the Solar Trade Association is calling on the government for equal treatment with other technologies, to include business rates cuts and the removal of red tape.
From a government perspective, it is taking care to control subsidises, the cost of which are passed on to consumers in their electricity bills.
Controls within the FITs mechanism include deployment caps, which place a limit on the total capacity that can be awarded to each technology in one tariff period. In addition, tariff rates are periodically reduced for new installations, based on the deployment levels of each type of technology.
It is not yet known whether new policies will be put in place to encourage the take-up of solar; publication of a carbon reduction policy has been delayed by the upcoming election. The Solar Trade association has welcomed the recently published Green Paper on Industrial Strategy, being one of the renewable groups that have written an open letter to the Secretary of State to welcome the strategy, saying, “If we act early to develop the right frameworks, low-cost, clean energy combined with new storage solutions and the adoption of smart digital technologies will drive innovation and investment.”
Written By – Nikki Wilson
