STA subsidy cuts alternative gets political support
Political figures, including Conservative MP Sir David Amess and Labour’s Caroline Flint, gave their backing to the plan, which aims to give the Government the cost control guarantees it requires whilst also helping to bolster the solar market.
The industry is asking the government for £95m over the next three years, a figure in stark contrast to the £7m budgeted by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), who will close a consultation on policy changes today.
Leonie Greene, Head of External Affairs at the Solar Trade Association, believes the emergency plan represents a compromise that is acceptable for both the Government and the solar industry.
“The fact that this plan costs just £1 per household shows just how affordable it could be to adopt steady, gradual reductions in support for solar,” she said.
“Solar is close to grid parity, but it is not there yet. The Government’s 98% cut in the overall budget for solar would derail the industry at the last hurdle and waste the millions of public investment in solar to date.”
The STA’s proposal would generate enough energy to power 875,000 homes and comes after a report from utility company Good Energy earlier this week, which revealed that renewable energy has reduced wholesale electricity prices by more than the overall net cost of subsidising it.
In an open letter to Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, STA CEO Paul Barwell pleaded with the Hastings and Rye MP to not give up on her solar revolution.
“Decisions made by you this Parliament will be crucial to both the future evolution of our energy system and the UK’s potential stake in global technology markets,” said Barwell in the letter.
“I am confident, with our latest evidence, that DECC and the solar industry can deliver what are surely shared objectives: value for money, stable policy support allowing the removal of subsidies, greater energy security and successfully tackling climate change.”
