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Government Press release about the Feed in Tariff - 7th February 2011 |
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Chris Huhne said:
“The
renewables industry is a vital piece in the green growth jigsaw and
this review will provide long term certainty while making sure homes,
communities and small firms are encouraged to produce their own green
electricity.
“Large
scale solar installations weren’t anticipated under the FITs scheme we
inherited and I’m concerned this could mean that money meant for people
who want to produce their own green electricity has the potential to be
directed towards large scale commercial solar projects.”
The comprehensive FITs review will:
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Assess all aspects of the scheme including tariff levels, administration and eligibility of technologie
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Be
completed by the end of the year, with tariffs remaining unchanged
until April 2012 (unless the review reveals a need for greater urgency)
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Fast
track consideration of large scale solar projects (over 50kW) with a
view to making any resulting changes to tariffs as soon as practical,
subject to consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny as required by the
Energy Act 2008.
Alongside
the fast track review of large scale solar PV, a short study in to the
uptake of FITs for farm based Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants will also
take place. Only two such projects have been accredited so far and by
this point at least six were expected. The tariff rates will be examined
to see if they are enough to make farm based AD worthwhile.
The
Government will not act retrospectively and any changes to generation
tariffs implemented as a result of the review will only affect new
entrants into the FITs scheme. Installations which are already
accredited for FITs at the time will not be affected.
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