22/03/2011

The NFU has branded Government plans to slash the level of feed-in tariff incentives available to large solar installations as ill-judged and extremely damaging for renewable energy in Britain.

Details have only just emerged of the 'fast-track' review of tariffs for solar PV and biogas. From August 1, a modest 900-square-metre solar roof rated at 100 kilowatts would see a 42 per cent cut in its generation tariff to 19p/kWh, while larger solar installations on rooftops or in fields would see incentives reduced by a massive 72 per cent.

Anaerobic digestion tariffs, on the other hand, are proposed to rise by just eight to 17 per cent (1p-2p/kWh for smaller systems).

Dr Jonathan Scurlock, NFU chief adviser for renewable energy, said: “We are horrified to see solar electricity incentives snatched away from our farmers and growers, many of whom have invested substantial amounts of their own project development money in good faith.

“These are not adjustments to the incentive scheme - this is an ill-judged slash-and-burn decision that sends an extremely damaging message to investors in UK renewable energy.”

The proposed deep cuts in solar tariffs above 50 kilowatts will render many farm rooftop schemes uneconomic, and the potential agri-environmental benefits of large solar farms will become a lost cause. No transitional arrangements have yet been announced for installations already under development.

Dr Scurlock added: “The fast-moving international solar industry will be driven from the shores of Britain, and the government will struggle to decarbonise power generation without the confidence of investors in land-based renewables. The timing could hardly be worse - this is a ghastly strategic mistake.”

The NFU is also disappointed that the detailed work on improving the AD tariffs that we and other stakeholders have put in with DECC officials has resulted in such a modest uplift in rates. Our shared recommendation to restrict any tariff uplift to plants holding an on-farm environmental permit was also ignored. We understand that some previously marginal projects may now progress, but this is unlikely to result in the 'huge increase' in farm-based AD that the government had been promising.

The NFU will continue to work closely with both DECC and Defra to address the economic and regulatory barriers to AD, and to stimulate the uptake of farm-scale biogas.