In response to the Supreme Court quashing the government’s FiTs appeal, the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has said that the government must re-engage with the industry if it wants solar PV to be a long term success, starting with a proper review of how FiTs will work with the forthcoming Green Deal.
The ECA’s Paul Reeve said, “The speed of the Supreme Court’s decision should bring an end to most of the turmoil and frantic installation activity that have characterised the industry for the last six months. The government needs to concentrate on building a sustainable business environment for solar PV microgeneration. One of the first things they can do is ensure that FiTs dovetail with the uptake of a package of energy measures under the Green Deal. Right now, DECC seems to think FiTs and the Green Deal are ships in the night.
“Many PV contractors built-up successful businesses based on FiTs. But even with dwindling tariffs, there is still a solid business case for solar PV because the capital cost of installation is falling fast while the cost of energy is likely to rise substantially long term – and PV is a long term investment.”
