Solar Trade Association says its rescue plan would add 拢1 to household energy bills and save 27,000 jobs
The UK鈥檚 main trade association for solar energy has proposed an 鈥渆mergency鈥� rescue plan it says would save thousands of jobs across the sector.
The Solar Trade Association (STA) says its 鈥溌�1 rescue plan鈥� - in response to proposals by the Department for Energy and Climate Change to cut the feed-in tariff (FIT) subsidy by 87% - would add just over 拢1 to household energy bills by 2019 and save 27,000 jobs in the industry.
The STA is calling for cross-party support for its rescue plan, and has urged its members to write to energy secretary Amber Rudd, chancellor George Osborne and prime minister David Cameron to lobby them to enact the plan.
FIT subsidies at their current level would cost the government 拢250m by 2019 according to the STA, and add 拢6 onto household bills.
The trade body claims that DECC鈥檚 proposals would cut the cost to 拢7m or 8p a year to household bills, but has proposed a compromise subsidy level which would cost 拢93m and add 拢1.06 to households by 2019.
It says DECC鈥檚 proposals would see deployment of 0.6GW of solar energy by 2019, whereas it is proposing deployment of 2.7GW, which would 鈥減revent industry supply-chains unravelling鈥�.
The STA鈥檚 plan would include setting higher initial tariffs to make it viable to invest in solar, with automatic reductions in the tariff based on deployment to allow the government to control costs while giving the industry certainty on where it stands with subsidy levels.
In addition to the feed-in tariff, the STA is also calling for the communities department to create 鈥渃redible鈥� zero carbon building measures to incentivise solar in new builds, as well as proposing the removal of grid constraints and alignment of commercial sector energy regulations via the Business Energy Tax Review to encourage solar investment.
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