Solar power “should not be provided to the grid for free” according to energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry, potentially heralding a change of stance from the government as it plans the future of small scale renewables. Perry was answering the first question of the day in the House of Commons from fellow Conservative Kevin Hollinrake, who asked if she believed that householders should expect some form of payment “rather than simply subsidising large energy companies”. “I do completely agree that solar power should not be provided to the grid for free and that’s why I’ll shortly be announcing the next steps for small scale renewables,” the minister replied. She later added in answer to a question from Richard Graham: “It would be wrong to have power provided to the grid for free.” Perry continued to press the point when confronted with an accusation from shadow minister Alan Whitehead that she has “messed things up on this occasion” by putting the closures of the FiT and the export tariff together. “I can’t think of a better way to discourage people from investing in solar in the future than telling them that they will be expected to give away to the national grid half of the electricity they generate from their investment. We’re not talking about a subsidy here when we talk about an export tariff, we’re talking about a payment for good supply,” he said.
Solar Power Portal 20th Nov 2018 read more »
Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry believes solar power should not be provided to the grid for free. She made the statement in response to questions in the House of Commons yesterday, when asked if householders should expect “some form of payment rather than simply subsidising large energy companies”. Ms Perry said the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme, which is being scrapped in April 2019, has been a “huge success”, supporting more than 800,000 installations nationally – but has cost consumers more than £4.5 billion to date and is expected to cost more than £2 billion a year for at least the next decade. She added: “It is therefore right that we consider a new scheme as the cost has fallen. However, I do completely agree that solar power should not be provided to the grid for free and that is why I will shortly be announcing the next steps for small-scale renewables.
Energy Live News 21st Nov 2018 read more »
The UK’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Minister Claire Perry said on Tuesday that “solar power should not be provided to the grid for free,” signaling that the UK government may introduce changes to its plans to end the generation tariff and the route to market tariff, the so-called export tariff, for small-scale renewables. In July this year, the UK government presented a proposal to close the export tariff alongside the generation tariff on March 31, 2019, which would mean full closure of the Feed-In Tariffs (FIT) scheme to new applications after that date. The proposal has drawn criticism from the renewables industry, which is concerned about the future of small-scale renewables in the UK. “The bad news is that Government has been crystal clear today on what policy measures will stop – even very basic rights to fair export payments – but they are frighteningly vague on what comes next,” Chris Hewett, CEO at the Solar Trade Association (STA), said at the time. On Tuesday, Conservative Kevin Hollinrake asked Minister Perry in Parliament if she believed that householders should expect some form of payment “rather than simply subsidizing large energy companies.” The UK minister replied: “I do completely agree that solar power should not be provided to the grid for free and that’s why I’ll shortly be announcing the next steps for small scale renewables.” “It would be wrong to have power provided to the grid for free,” Perry also said.
Oil Price 20th Nov 2018 read more »