Solar panel subsidies could be slashed again by next year, the Government has said, after it confirmed the first cut in the feed-in tariff will happen from next month.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) today announced plans to halve the tariff, which pays people to generate electricity, for anyone who installs and registers from 3 March 2012.
While this was expected following a legal challenge to its original plans to slash the benefit in December, buried deep in this morning's consultation document lay proposals to almost halve the gain again by April 2013 in three further stages.
After the March cut, the subsidy would be slashed by at least another 20% for those who install from 1 July 2012. Payments would drop again in October 2012 and April 2013, or earlier if too many people install solar.
Those who already have panels keep the rate at the time of registration, which follows the installation.
I see trouble, with a Capital T
This is crazy if they slash this even more no one point having solar panel installations, they will will just become to much of a long term investment to make logical sense.
ReplyDeleteWe are not too worried, the last time the FIT was slashed, the price of the hardware (PV panels / Inverter etc) halved. in a way the last FIT didnt change the payback time of a system but lowered government liabilities for the next 25 years which come out of our taxes anyway. the market has a natural level and the cutting the FIT, in a way it will make the systems more affordable. also the tech is getting better with more efficient pannels and more 'sturdy' inveters. some of the early inverters, to be honest were a bit crap, with dry joints on the PCB's and alike.
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