A joint report on the solar power feed-in tariffs has been published by the Energy and Climate Change and Environment Audit Select Committees. The report criticises the Government’s handling of the proposed changes to FiTs, which it says could have a fatal impact on the solar industry. Tim Yeo MP, Chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, said "There is no question that solar subsidies needed to be urgently reduced, but the Government has handled this clumsily.”

According to MPs, Ministers had evidence that solar panel prices were falling significantly as early as March last year but did not act until the end of October when Government announced the consultation as part of a review of FiTs. The reports says that the consultation was rushed, based on an inadequate impact assessment and set an unfair deadline for the changes to come into effect before the closing date of the consultation on 23 December.

The report calls on the Government to:

• Develop a system to review and adjust FiT rates in an orderly and timely way;
• Consider alternative energy efficiency requirements to avoid devastating the industry;
• Design a ‘community tariff’ that takes in to account the wider impacts on community groups and social housing projects;
• Collaborate between DECC and BIS Departments on how the FiTs scheme could be used to encourage solar panel manufacturing in the UK;
• Require electricity suppliers to provide annual returns on how much FiTs have added to annual energy bills.

LGYH submitted a response to the Government’s consultation, highlighting the impact of the changes for Y&H councils and urging Government to re-consider its approach. Please contact Jon Clubb, Climate Change Coordinator (jon.clubb@lgyh.gov.uk) for a copy of the response.