Shock Feed in Tariff cut

Today, Greg Barker officially announced the changes which the DECC are putting forward for the Feed in Tariff. A document leaked by the Energy Savings Trust late last week broke the news to suppliers, installers and customers who were looking to benefit from the current 43.3p rate for domestic solar PV installs. The news leaked in the Energy Savings Trust report sparked widespread fear and anger among customers and suppliers alike.

The decision taken by the DECC will undoubtedly lead to widespread redundancies in one of the industries the Coalition Government supposedly committed to developing. The solar PV industry will be brought to a standstill by the developments over the last few days and HiS Group do not believe that there will be any interest from customers and the free model which had the opportunity to help alleviate fuel poverty has been killed. HiS Group support a significant cut in the tariff as a result of reduced supply chain costs but, reducing the UK Feed in Tariff to a level which is lower than Germany (recognised as the most developed solar pv market) does not make sense.

The drastic and sudden change to the Feed in Tariff means that any proposed installs will need to be installed, commissioned and submitted to a Feed in Tariff licensee by 12th December to be eligible for the 43.3p for 25 years. Commissioning and registering with the Feed in Tariff Licensee can take up to a week, especially with the anarchy which will ensue in the next month. As a result, HiS Group would recommend completing any outstanding installs by 5th December.

There may yet be light at the end of the tunnel, with Green Deal and the Renewable Heat Incentive being brought in next year. Consumers will be given an opportunity under the Renewable Heat Incentive to earn a tariff for every kwh of renewable heat they produce from technologies such as solar thermal. However, it remains to be seen how many renewable energy companies will be around next year to deliver innovative products to households across the UK who will continue to see rising energy prices.