With Friends of the Earth unveiling their plans to take the government to court over green incentives being slashed many solar panel firms are speaking up in support.
Feed in Tariffs were introduced to motivate people to invest in solar panels. The scheme’s incentive was that payment would be given for electricity generated. Initially the payment was 43p per kilowatt hour however the recent changes to the tariff mean that this figure will reduce it to 21p.
Originally scheduled to change in April, 2012, last month there was uproar as this date was moved forward to the 12 December, 2011. This news lead to thousands of organisations pulling out of solar energy schemes and a number of the UK’s biggest solar panel producers threatening to leave Britain if the changes go through.
Peter Bladen, MD of solar panel firm, BSOLAR said: ‘I’m fully in support of the Friends of Earth, the slashing of financial incentives for solar panel installations is threatening jobs and the UK’s progression to being more green.
‘Solar panels will still be a good investment after the rates go down but the payback will be longer which will have an impact on the sales and installation of solar panels. The Government’s actions have been irresponsible, because they’ve slashed the FITs rates with little notice, which has shaken the stability of the sustainable market. Installers are currently working 24/7 to install panels before the rates fall, but when they do they predict there could be a dip in sales, which will put jobs at risk. Firms will be thinking that if they do this to solar they will do it to other renewables, and will be less likely to create new jobs and invest heavily in the sustainable sector.’
He added: ‘The argument by the Government about running out of money is false. The additional funds to pay for renewable installations comes from the power companies, they pass on the bills to all customers in terms of a few pence each, exactly the same as all their other infrastructure investments. There is no real reason that the FIT rates needed to be cut.
‘The Government could have also cut rates by 20 or 25 per cent then cut again later, giving the industry time to prepare, rather than making a sudden change which has led to firms losing contracts and damaging the stability of the renewable industry in the UK.’
