The Department for Energy and Climate Change has announced that further cuts to solar feed-in tariffs (FiT) will be made from July, due to the its automatic degression model. Although there have been a rising number of larger installations in recent months, smaller scale solar projects continue to flag.

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Nevertheless, small-scale installations (those under 50 kW) will be hit by a 3.5 percent reduction under the new rates, though FiTs for larger arrays will not change as these were subject to cuts at the beginning of May. The cuts to FiTs for smaller systems will be made despite the fact that the number of smaller installations is below the stated trigger point for a tariff cut.

The automatic degression process means that, although the rate of smaller installations has been below par for three consecutive periods (meaning no cuts were made in the previous two periods), a reduction will be made in FiTs for the third.  

In response to DECC's announcement, NFU renewable advisor Dr Jonathan Scurlock said uptake of smaller systems remains relatively slow, though large-scale installations are continuing apace.

He criticised the government's automatic 'degression' system for sending out "confusing signals," though he added "solar power remains a sound investment whatever the size." However, solar companies said the latest cuts have coincided with price rises for solar panels.

Further information on the new rates can be found here.