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Greg Barker outlined the proposed changes to FITs
http://www.greenbuildnews.co.uk/images/img/articles/297_198/Articles_341_1_1300456310.jpg
added support to farm-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) given the disappointing uptake of such technologies to date.
The review in to FITs was announced in February this year, in response to the fear that PV installations above 50kW could potentially soak up the subsidy that would otherwise go to smaller renewable schemes on houses and small businesses, or other technologies such as wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion. Projections at the start of the scheme had shown no large scale solar under the FITs was expected until at least 2013. The consulation also claims that costs of installing solar PV have reduced, now believed to be around 30% lower than originally projected, meaning the technology does not need as much support to be competitive.
Greg Barker, climate change minister, said: "I want to make sure that we capture the benefits of fast falling costs in solar technology to allow even more homes to benefit from feed in tariffs, rather than see that money go in bumper profits to a small number of big investors."
The proposed rates for new PV installations are:
- 19p/kWh for 50kW to 150kW
- 15p/kWh for 150kW to 250kW
- 8.5p/kWh for 250kW to 5MW and stand-alone installations
These compare with the tariffs that would otherwise apply from 1st April of:
- 32.9p/kWh for 10kw to 100kw
- 30.7/kWh for 100kw to 5MW and stand-alone installations
The study into anaerobic digestion suggests that the tariff for this technology, at 12.1p/kWh up to 500 kW, is not high enough to make such schemes worthwhile. The proposed new tariffs are:
- 14p/kWh for AD installations with a total installed capacity of up to 250 kW
- 13p/kWh for AD installations with a total installed capacity of between 250 kW and 500 kW
These changes are proposed to be implemented in advance of the comprehensive review of FITs, which is currently underway and will look at all aspects of the scheme. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, these changes could come in from 1st August 2011.
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