The FIT scheme is an incentive for homeowners

Dear Diary,

Solar panels, or Solar Photovoltaic Panels to give them
their proper name, have featured prominently in energy news recently. The reduction in the Feed-In-Tariff scheme
(FIT) by which householders would be given money by electricity companies for
the energy they generated has
been greeted with dismay by solar energy
manufacturers and installers.

The FIT scheme is an incentive for homeowners to install
solar panels, as Double Knit Jacquard Fabric the panels earn them money even if the energy they generate is only used by themselves and their
families. It is part of a government drive to broaden the
electricity-generating sources in this country, especially those in the
renewable sector.

Current and previously-installed systems receive 43p/kwh but
the rate is to be cut to 21p/kwh so reducing the incentive, argue opponents of
the change. But the government insists that the change is needed in order to
remain within the budget of £867m for the energy scheme.

The government has also claimed that the cost of the scheme
was becoming too much too bare for all other energy customers, some figures suggesting that bills would be
increasing by as much as £80 a year to pay for the feed-in-tariff payments.

There have been wider arguments, going on largely
unannounced, that call into question whether solar energy
is the right source to concentrate such a scheme upon. These doubts centre upon
the long-term viability of solar generation in northern latitudes with less
dependable sunlight than in southern Europe for example. Because of this,
solar’s place within the UK’s energy
mix is in doubt.

But solar energy
industry insiders have responded by claiming that up to 20,000 jobs are at risk
from the sudden change in tariffs. They state that many of those employed by
solar PV panels manufacturers and installers have moved from other construction
related companies where employment has fallen in the last three years since the
credit crunch. This means, they say, that these workers will not be able to
re-locate to other jobs when demand for solar panels drops due to the tariff
cut.

Commentators believe that the arguments over the
sustainability of roof solar panels are just a part of the larger battle over
Britain’s proposed shift in dependence from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This shift must be affordable
for the consumer say the government. Solar panel advocates contend that it is
lobbying from the large electricity companies that has prompted the policy
about-face.