It’s a situation that has been repeated around the world – governments launching solar incentives programs, but underestimating how many people wish to install solar power systems to buffer against spiralling electricity costs.
The UK government has proposed a slashing of feed in tariffs in an effort to keep the scheme “budget under control and reflect the plummeting costs of the technology”.
Under the government’s proposal, the new payment rate for solar power systems up to 4kW in size would be 21p/kWh (around AUD 32c) – down from the current 43.3p/kWh. Tariff rate reductions would also be put in place for larger systems.
According to UK Climate Change and Energy Minister Greg Barker, the proposed payment level is pegged to a level to avoid the solar industry becoming a victim of a boom and bust.
“Although I fully realise that adjusting to the new lower tariffs will be a big challenge for many firms, it won’t come as a surprise to many in the solar industry who’ve themselves acknowledged the big fall in costs and the big increase in their rate of return over the past year,” said Minister Barker.
The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) states the cost of an average grid-connected home solar power system has fallen by at least 30% since the start of the scheme.
By taking action now, the government says the new rates will rein in additional costs on electricity bills to around AUD $35 in 2020. Like solar feed in tariffs in other countries, all electricity consumers pay for the scheme through their power bills.
For a nation not known for sunny days, solar PV has certainly been popular. Over 16,000 new rooftop arrays of solar panels were installed in September; close to double the number installed in June. Nearly triple the amount of systems projected have been installed so far – the UK now boasts 100,000 individual installations, representing over 400MW of capacity.
