Solar panel cash row heats up

TEMPERS are running hot after the Government said it could slash in half the amount it pays households for solar power.

Solar panels – or photovoltaic (PV) panels – have popped up on roofs in Worcestershire with increasing regulatory, with people cashing in on the feed-in tariffs (FITs) the Government pays to people for generating excess electricity for the grid.

But admitting it had chronically underestimated take-up for solar, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has now launched a speedy consultation to halve the tariff from Tuesday, December 13.

This effectively means anyone not having panels fitted and registered for the FIT scheme within the next three weeks will miss out on the current tariff and get the reduced rate.

Cropthorne and Charlton Village Hall committee is unimpressed as it is trying to get grant money to pay for panels.

“There’s no way we’ll get a grant by December so we’ll have to re-cost our plan,” said Jacqui King, committee member and parish councillor. “This is not encouraging anyone to do such projects.”

While the FIT scheme is not paid directly by Government – it comes from a levy on electric bills – money is running out faster than predicted. With the tariff’s current rate of up to 43.3p per KWh (kilowatts hour), panels pay for themselves after between eight and 10 years on average.

But the rate will drop to 21p after Monday, December 12. Lynn Denham, who invested in solar panels for her home in Oaklands, off Newtown Road, Worcester, said that will mean not as many people will be able to afford solar panels.

The wife of Labour city councillor Paul Denham also said the changes had effectively killed off any hope of developing a community energy company in the city.

Jason Bishop, who runs Solar Valley Energy at Wichenford, near Worcester, said a tariff cut was expected in March but the halving would cost jobs and stall growth.

“It’s cost me £16,000 to set up so you can see why I am peeved,” he said.

“We have a three-man installations team and sales manager but I have had to let my sales manager go.

“We still have business because I have a building firm but the solar side just will not grow.

“It is just totally out of the blue; it’s ill thought out and reckless.”

The 45-year-old has written to West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin calling for her support and signed an online petition.

Mrs Baldwin said panels “should still make a worthwhile investment” for both new customers and installers. “With a lower subsidy, more people can benefit, as the money goes further,” she said, promising to pass on constituents’ concerns about the proposed change.