Despite the monumental success of the COP21 agreement, the government has decided that what it really needs to do is cut half a billion pounds of support from renewable energy paybacks.
The Department of Energy & Climate Change has announced some significant changes to the Feed-in Tariff that'll see owners of solar panels get paid 4.39p /kwh instead of 12.47p /kwh.
This is the amount that any homeowner of a solar panel gets paid regardless of whether they're using that electricity or putting it back into the National Grid.
As well as the the cut to paybacks, the government has confirmed that it will be removing 'grandfathering' (fixed rate support) of solar projects.
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So not only will they be paying you less for creating solar energy but they'll also be removing the support for large-scale projects across the country.
This all sounds well, bad, but the government says that this is all part of the natural growth that renewable energy is experiencing. As solar power becomes cheaper and more affordable the government claims that it is essentially removing the 'training wheels' and allowing the industry to support itself.
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd, said:
"My priority is to ensure energy bills for hardworking families and businesses are kept as low as possible whilst ensuring there is a sensible level of support for low carbon technologies that represent value for money."
"We have to get the balance right and I am clear that subsidies should be temporary, not part of a permanent business model. When the cost of technologies come down, so should the consumer-funded support."