Schneider welcomes DECC u-turn on small scale renewable energy developments
Schneider Electric has welcomed the news that the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has u-turned on its proposals to remove Renewable Obligation (RO) support for smaller scale renewable energy developments.
‘It’s refreshing to see that UK government is listening to businesses operating within the market place and responding effectively,’ said Darren Farrar, customer marketing manager at Schneider Electric. ‘The renewable energy industry is a growth sector for the UK and it’s important that the government continues to support and nurture it, which is why this is such good news.’The government had originally proposed to exclude small scale solar, anaerobic digestion, onshore wind and hydro power installations, sized between 50kW and 5MW, from the RO and instead use the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) as the support mechanism. The issue of funding is a crucial one as the FiT actually delivers lower funding than the RO and therefore could potentially inhibit growth and investment in some of these technology areas.
Farrar added, ‘We can only hope that this is a sign of things to come and that government has truly turned a page with regards to supporting the renewable energy market place. Industry has been campaigning for some time for clarity in the system to ensure continued investment and this is a step in the right direction.’
