Chris Huhne, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, published DECC's formal response to Question 1 of the Comprehensive Review Phase 1 consultation.
Read the update.
As we read it, this means that whether or not the Government wins or loses its court appeal, domestic customers will get a minimum of 21p/KWh for 25 years for systems installed between 12 December 2011 and 31 March 2012. It is still possible that systems installed between 12 December 2011 and 2 March 2012 could get 43.3p/kWh but this will only happen if DECC loses the appeal.
We still have the Phase 2 Consultation to come. This will get into the issue of 'degression', the method by which the FiT steps down over time for new installations, and it is likely to introduce some form of proposed 'capacity cap' trigger almost certainly during the next FiT year.
Following calls from the industry for the government to clarify the level of incentive available for current installations, Huhne tabled a Written Ministerial Statement in parliament detailing the government's plans.
"We continue to stand by our original proposal," he said, referring to the plan to halve solar incentives for installations completed after December 12 last year. "However, I know that the uncertainty while we await the court's decision is difficult for the industry."
Friends of the Earth's executive director Andy Atkins welcomed the move, predicting the statement will "sort out some of the uncertainty that's crippling a thriving UK industry". However, he reiterated calls for the government to rethink its approach to solar Feed-in tariffs and raise the spending cap for the scheme.
His comments were echoed by Solarcentury's head of public affairs Seb Berry, who urged the government to reconsider the spending cap for the Feed-in Tariff scheme, "The Government is taking an important step today to restore some certainty to the PV market in the short-term.''
There are important points that still need clarifying. We will keep up-to-date with further developments.
The new generation tariffs set out in the draft licence modifications are set out in the table below and would apply for all installations with an eligibility date on or after 3 March 2012.
Read the Written Ministerial Statement on Solar PV Feed-in Tariffs.
| Band (kW Total Installed Capacity) | Current generation tariff (p/kWh) | New generation tariff from 1 April 2012 (p/kWh) |
| <4kW (new build) |
37.8 | 21.0 |
| <4kW (retrofit) | 43.3 | 21.0 |
| >4-10kW | 37.8 | 16.8 |
| >10-50kW | 32.9 | 15.2 |
| >50-100kW | 19 | 12.9 |
| >100-150kW | 19 | 12.9 |
| >150-250kW | 15 | 12.9 |
| >250kW-55MW | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| stand alone | 8.5 | 8.5 |
