It has been announced by the government that it is to make a number of changes with regard to how renewable energy is subsidised by them but referred to the changes as just a rebalancing of resources. The government has confirmed that the amount that is to be spent in total is not to change.
Unfortunately for the solar industry, the amount the government is to invest in both solar energy and onshore wind is to reduce but the amount to be invested in offshore wind is to increase. Apparently, the Labour party were not impressed with the decision.
From 2015, the price that the producers of solar energy and onshore wind energy receive is to go down but the amount that offshore wind producers will receive will go up. The reason that these changes are to be made is, apparently, because the government feels that solar power and onshore wind power are no longer requiring as much support from the state. However, the reverse was felt about offshore wind power.
The government made it clear that they were not taking this action because of complaints received about the number of onshore wind farms. In taking this action, the government feels that offshore wind will get additional support at an early stage and, presumably, this will help towards achieving renewable energy targets.
However, in taking this action is it going to be harder for the UK to achieve its solar energy target of 10GW by 2020? This amount of energy is capable of providing sufficient power for seven million homes so this is a significant contribution.
This is an interesting development and, as always, we would very much welcome the valuable comments of our readers. Do you support this decision or are you against it? Why not take a few minutes to let us know your feelings.
