Clouds on the solar horizon - Government review of feed in tariff subsidies for renewable energy installations...

The sun shone for the first time today on the first solar panels to be installed in Swanborough and their new owner was over the moon! but clouds are already gathering on the horizon as the government announced a review of the feed in tariffs intended to encourage people to make this investment for themselves and the planet in future. The problem seems to be... too much interest in developing "solar farms"

Whilst one of the developers of large scale "solar farm" projects argue that these are necessary "to bring about the critical mass and amount of investment required to develop the UK's solar industry" Sussex MP and energy minister Charles Hendry defends the continuing support of small scale installations...

"We have indicated a concern that [the FIT] is intended for micro-generation. If all the funding was taken up by large-scale commercial operations, that would be against the spirit of what is being intended. It would mean the funding available for domestic householders and businesses would be shrinking dramatically".

The Renewable Energy Association has said that this uncertainty threatens large scale solar projects for schools, hospitals and housing associations which it claims would generate twice as much energy as the solar farms.

The Energy Regulator Ofgem calculates that only 22,500 renewable electricity projects in the UK are currently benefitting from feed in tariffs, generating 80MW, more than half of which is solar... this amounts to less that 0.1% of the Uk's electricity supply! The target is to increase this 50 fold by 2020, subsidies were thought to be crucial incentives....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/06/solar-farms-threa...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/07/solar-energy-feed...\