Energy secretary Amber Rudd admits that Feed-in Tariff (FiT) changes could have a negative impact on the development of community energy projects.
However she defended her decision by reiterating the importance of safeguarding spend under the FiT scheme.
Not all is lost though as she offered community projects hope of potential assistance when she added:
“As part of the review we are seeking views as to whether the scheme should be focussed towards specific groups or sectors which might, for example, include households or communities”.
The removal of pre-accreditation is the latest in a series of moves scaling back subsidies to renewable technologies by the current government. This one however has proved detrimental to community projects as it blocks developers from securing an agreed subsidy rate before costly permitting applications and construction begins.
The changes will prevent thousands of new homes, schools and hospitals from benefiting from clean energy leaving environmental groups and renewable energy companies in uproar.
Amy Cameron, 10:10 campaign manager explains,
“The government wants to pull the plug on Britain’s solar revolution just as it is getting going. Other countries know it’s worth supporting renewables – to cut carbon, and to create jobs – and Britain is in danger of falling seriously behind. The British public know it’s the way too. It’s time the Treasury and DECC caught up.”
Perhaps it’s time the government started to listen to the public and their desire for clean energy.
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