Around 2,000 skilled jobs have been put at risk by the cuts to a key incentive for renewable energy announced by the Government yesterday, according to experts at Regen SW, the region’s green energy group.
It claims the cuts, proposed in the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) consultation and review of Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs), will have a devastating effect on what has been a very successful and job-creating scheme in the South West.
DECC’s plans would reduce the incentives for installing renewable energy from December 12 this year rather than April 1 next year as previously proposed.
FiTs were introduced in April 2010 to support renewable energy projects and have led to solar PV becoming a common sight on roofs of houses, schools and community buildings. More than 14,500 projects had been installed in the South West, the sunniest part of the UK, by last month and Regen’s research shows 2,000 skilled jobs have been created in the region to fit the panels. More than 380 companies are qualified to install the technology.
Regen chief executive Merlin Hyman said: “The speed of these changes will be very damaging to businesses that have invested, in good faith, to meet the growing demand for renewable energy – thousands of jobs are severely at risk.
“The feed-in tariff has brought the benefits of secure and sustainable energy to thousands of homes, communities and businesses – this is a success story we should be building on, not cutting off at the knees.”
Juliet Davenport, founder and chief executive of Chippenham-based renewable energy supplier Good Energy, added: “We’re disappointed to see the Feed-in Tariff cut significantly. The real story here seems to be that due to pressure from Chancellor George Osborne and the Treasury, DECC has had to cut the one scheme that gives households control over their rising energy bills.”
Jamie O’Nians, managing director of Bristol solar company Your Power, said: “For Your Power the impact is significant, it is difficult to see how we can continue to grow, create jobs and add value to local economy – at the beginning of the year we had a team of five and now we are a team of 40. But the biggest losers from this reduction, apart from the Government’s credibility, are the environment and the consumer.”
Regen has launched a campaign in support of the feed-in tariff including writing to all South West MPs and setting up a website with guidance on how people can make their concerns heard.
