Published on 29 - May - 2012

News

FITs: Schott UK md urges industry to pull together

Following the Government's announcement that the Feed-in Tariff scheme for solar pv will now be delayed until 1 August, John Meadows, managing director of Schott UK, is calling for the industry to pull together and focus on the opportunities available.

He said: "We are pleased that the Government is still demonstrating ongoing support for solar pv technology and welcome the news that the Feed-in Tariff framework in the future will be better than many expected. Seeing solar pv as an important part of the UK's energy mix in the Renewable Energy Roadmap is a major step in the right direction."

"With regards to the delay from July to August, we would have ideally liked a longer postponement to allow the market to gather some momentum prior to further tariff reductions, but the Government maintaining the RPI link is positive, since this has been seen as an attractive feature of the scheme by consumers, as well as providing investors with a more viable return," he continued.

Mr Meadows said that Schott Solar welcomes the Government's decision on the multi installation tariff, although he expressed concern that the 10% reduction could still be prohibitive for the social housing sector "and that's something the industry will have to pull together on."

He also said he was disappointed to see the FIT lifetime cut to 20 years "because the reliability and durability of modules are the key factors that should be considered when installing pv." He added that the reduced lifetime of the scheme could make project planners consider lower quality solutions leading to the risk of problems further down the line.

However, on the whole, he said, the consultation is a positive step.

He concluded: "Following this announcement, it is now up to us, the industry, to show the value of solar long-term and to focus on promoting and developing products that can prove long-term performance and durability - to ensure the end user is generating optimum output. End-user education is key."