Seb Berry, External Relations Manager at Solarcentury and Board Member of the Solar Trade Association and SolarPower Europe responds to Energy Secretary Amber Rudd’s comments yesterday during the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee meeting.
“This week should have ended once and for all the idea that the current crisis facing the UK solar industry was somehow the result of Ministerial incompetence or that decisions are being taken solely on the basis of incorrect data and information. If only it were that simple.
It’s always been clear that the ending of the solar Renewables Obligation and the still possible end to the feed-in tariff in early 2016, are part of a deliberate Conservative attempt to reset “low carbon” policy in favour of vastly expensive new nuclear and hugely unpopular fracking. This ideologically driven agenda has George Osborne’s fingers all over it.
So it comes as no surprise to see only this week Parliamentary written answers spelling out that this government sees only very minimal new solar deployment right through to 2020/21, nor a surprise to see the leaked Rudd letter admitting that the UKs 2020 renewable energy target is going to be missed by a wide margin.
In Brussels, it’s never been a secret that the Commission has serious concerns about the UKs laggard performance, with many observers predicting that the EU will almost certainly have to start taking action as early as next year to ensure that the UK gets closer to its legally binding 2020 target. No wonder Ministers are worried about how this all plays out in Paris in a few weeks’ time.
It’s not the best advert for one of the World’s supposedly “leading” low carbon governments to be slashing or ending support for the two cheapest mass renewables, solar and wind, while simultaneously admitting it currently has no idea of how the 2020 shortfall is going to be addressed.
And how exactly are the 35,000 skilled dedicated people currently employed in the UK sector supposed to feel when Ministers are dismissive of their contribution to UK PLC and announce that one alternative may be to buy in foreign renewable generation instead.
What a shambles and a politically motivated shambles at that.
Despite the damage that the Summer’s announcements have already inflicted on the UK solar industry, the good news is that it’s not too late for Ministers to work with us to put it right.
The Solar Trade Association’s “£1 plan” would allow the feed-in tariff to continue in a meaningful way, safeguarding investment and tens of thousands of jobs, while still delivering a significant cut over projected spending under the current scheme. If Amber Rudd is serious about wanting to see a “solar revolution” in the UK, that is the very least that she should do.”