We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to introduce regulation setting ‘feed in tariffs’ for renewable energy production, along the lines of the German model.”
Details of Petition:
“In Germany, electricity generated by householders and industry, using new renewable technologies such as solar power, attract a favorable price set by the Government and fixed for a number of years. There is an obligation for the energy companies to buy that electricity at the set tarrif. Once the new technology has been established and become economically viable, as for example with wind power, the tariff is reduced to the regular market rate. In the U.K., solar and geothermal power on a small and large scale, and the budding but underfunded wave and tidal power industries, would benefit greatly from such a tariff. The U.K. could be self sufficient in renewable energy, and a world leader in wave generation technology, but only if Government help is forthcoming.”
· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage
Read the Government’s response
In November last year the 2008 Energy Act introduced powers which will allow the Government to create feed-in tariffs for small scale low carbon electricity. The feed-in tariffs will apply to renewable technologies up to a maximum capacity of 5 megawatts and will be implemented in April 2010.
The Government will be developing the feed-in tariffs policy over the coming months and will publish a consultation on the detail this summer. We will look at international experience of feed-in tariffs, including Germany’s, to inform our thinking. However, we will need to design a system which best suits the UK’s objectives, energy policies and electricity market.
In the meantime, we continue to offer grants to assist in the upfront costs of purchasing and installing microgeneration technologies through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.
Additionally, renewable electricity microgeneration technologies also receive support through the Renewables Obligation, and from April 1 2009 they will receive double the support they received previously.
The Renewables Obligation will continue to be the main mechanism for supporting large scale generation. Feed-in tariffs will work alongside the Renewables Obligation to help deliver the UK’s renewable electricity targets by incentivising householders, schools, hospitals, communities and businesses to invest in low carbon electricity generation.
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