A bright future?


Despite a promising start, the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme has recently been the subject of ongoing court action, which has left many of those thinking of installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems having to reconsider their options. Rob Shepherd assesses the current state of play and explains why the case for solar PV is still a positive one


W


hen the Feed-In Tariff scheme (FITs) was introduced in April 2010, it was welcomed as a way to kick-start the mass adoption of renewable energy technologies and,


in particular, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels that convert sunlight into electricity.


Work in progress The scheme was an instant hit and, according to data released by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the UK had 76.9MW of installed solar PV capacity at the end of 2010, compared to just 0.4MW of capacity in 1996. More recent figures from DECC also show that by the end of September 2011, out of 80,743 FIT-registered installations, 78,411 were for solar PV technology and, despite the gloomy economic conditions, that around 39,000 jobs had been created by the industry. While the FIT scheme was doing its job in encouraging


small scale solar PV installations, it was also attracting companies that saw FITs as a revenue stream. Paul Reeve, the ECA’s head of environment, explains: ‘Those installing PV were able to make significant amounts of money, but the government panicked when it realised how much money FITs would add to voters’ energy bills.’


24 ECA Today March 2012


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