Solar makes sense for secure Government support

By Olly Watts, Senior Climate Policy Officer

Will the Government pull the rug from under the solar industry, or will it adjust its support commensurate with an industry finding its feet in the UK energy market?

The consultation proposal for revising the solar Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) looked very much like the former – a rug being rudely whipped out from beneath an industry.

With recent developments, such as the scrapping of funding for carbon capture and storage projects stations announced in the Chancellor’s autumn review, there is increasing need for the solar industry to play its full part in an energy mix for the UK that is climate – and nature – friendly.

London took to its feet on Sunday with a climate march that marvellously demonstrated how much ordinary citizens want a solution to climate change. The pivotal Paris climate negotiations are now underway, with calls for a genuine solution to climate pollution supported by global citizens of every rank and file – including an A-list of celebrities who are helping their fans and supporters to understand the very serious situation we have now arrived at.

Both the Met Office and World Meteorological Organisation have recently announced that the world is now 1° Celsius warmer than before the industrial revolution kicked off climate pollution. Not merely symbolic, that’s halfway to the threshold of dangerous climate change. This would usher an era of extreme difficulty not just for our way of life and people and communities across our Earth, but also for the natural environment.  Both the RSPB and BirdLife have recently published reports showing how much climate change has already affected wildlife.  It’s a worrying picture that’s not just for the future – impacts are apparent right now.

If the UK wants to see ambition on the global stage to tackle climate change it needs to back that up with action at home. If its words begin to ring hollow then the UK’s international credibility on climate change will begin to crumble from the inside. Unfortunately, right now, the Committee on Climate Change, the Government’s independent scientific advisory body, has made clear its concerns that without intervention the UK could be on course to miss its carbon budgets. Deciding to continue support our growing renewables industry would be a significant intervention of exactly the kind that is needed.

A healthy UK solar industry should be part of our contribution to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. Our solar industry is growing, but still finding its feet as a mature, market-ready contributor to the UK’s electricity production. That’s not surprising - just about all UK energy production receives some form of financial assistance from the Government. Solar’s share of this support needs to be fair – such as the Solar Trade Association’s £1 plan – and able to steer the industry to a secure future of continuing investment that benefits investors, consumers and a healthy climate. 

So we await with interest what DECC and Amber Rudd will decide as the outcome of their consultation. With 55,000 responses to consider we appreciate this is no simple task, and we hope that the level of interest maintains UK solar on its path to clean, green, nature friendly energy.  What do you think the Government should do?