Climate Action included this in a recent message to its supporters:
"While most of us were out catching rays in the heatwave earlier this summer, the government snuck out a call for evidence about small-scale renewable energy in the UK, and a consultation on their plan to close the Feed-in tariff scheme. The proposal is worse than expected. The government are also planning to axe the export tariff. This guarantees households who install solar a fair price for the electricity they generate but don’t use. Cutting it means anyone installing solar panels at home will essentially donate their extra power to big energy companies. For most people, installing solar just won’t make sense financially."
Well, up to a point, Lord Copper. Closing FIT to new entrants has been policy since 2015. This is the government's current view which is all about cutting the cost of electricity for consumers:
"... small-scale low-carbon electricity generation, where it is on balance beneficial to government’s objectives and the electricity system, should compete independent of direct subsidy and on its own merits on a level playing field with other electricity generation technologies through competitive, market-based solutions. Subject to receiving clear evidence of such benefits through the call for evidence process the government could then consider what, if any, further action is necessary to facilitate this. Such action could include options which address regulatory barriers, ensure small-scale generators are able to access additional revenue streams or that help guarantee a route to market. The evidence gathered from this call for evidence will allow government to decide how to proceed after the closure of the Feed-In Tariff scheme in April 2019."
Climate Action seems to claim to know all the answers for everyone everywhere when it says that "for most people, installing solar just won’t make sense financially" as this is a calculation that individuals have to make when they choose (or not) to invest. Further, reducing the export tariff will incentivise really small scale producers (like Semington A which receives a modest 3.72p/kWh for its exporting) to use all the electricity they produce, for example by investing in storage.
Meanwhile, I see that it is being mooted that electric and hydrogen cars may be allowed to travel in bus lanes ...
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