Solar panel subsidies for UK homes will end next year

Ministers have been accused of striking a major blow against household solar power after the government said its feed-in tariff (FIT) subsidy scheme would end next year without a replacement, the Guardian reports.

Renewables advocates had hoped there would be a replacement for the scheme, but a government consultation launched on Thursday made it clear there would be no extension or new alternative.

The Guardian quotes Emma Pinchbeck, executive director at RenewableUK: “Today’s confirmation that there will be no replacement for the feed-in tariff is a major blow to small-scale renewables in the UK.”

The paper adds that: “Controversially, anyone installing solar after April will no longer even be paid for exporting their excess solar electricity to local power grids.”

The government also yesterday published a Call for Evidence on the support it should provide in the future for small-scale green power generation.

A separate BusinessGreen story reports on changes to the government’s ECO energy efficiency scheme, also announced yesterday, which has been refocused on “affordable warmth” for fuel poor households, rather than carbon reduction.