Solar Power: Renewables Obligation
(asked on 15th July 2014) - View Source
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment he has made of whether support levels for accredited solar PV plants will be maintained for the 20 year duration specified in the Renewables Obligation order; and what the Government's policy is on (a) Renewables Obligation scheme and (b) solar PV.
The Government has no plans to change the 20 year duration of support under the Renewables Obligation (RO) for accredited solar PV stations. DECC has recently consulted on proposals to control the deployment of new solar PV capacity above 5MW under the RO. A copy of the consultation document is available on DECC’s web page:
With regard to our policy on the RO scheme, DECC has laid draft Regulations before Parliament which will bring about the closure of the RO to new capacity on 31 March 2017 as planned, subject to Parliamentary approval. The Government has proposed closing the RO to new solar capacity above 5MW two years earlier, from 31 March 2015. We consider this to be necessary because large-scale solar PV is deploying more rapidly than expected. This poses a substantial risk to our ability to manage the levy control framework budget, and therefore our ability to minimise costs of renewables deployment for consumers. The consultation closed on 7 July and consultation responses are being considered. We will publish a Government Response setting out our decision as soon as possible.
The UK has seen a remarkable transformation in solar PV deployment under the Coalition Government: solar capacity stood at 3.5GW at the end of the first quarter of 2014, increasing its share to 17 per cent of all renewables capacity. The Government remains committed to solar PV, and the measures that we set out in our UK Solar PV Strategy will ensure that solar PV continues to be a vital part of the UK’s renewable energy mix for many years to come. A copy of the Strategy is available on DECC’s web page:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-solar-pv-strategy-part-1-roadmap-to-a-brighter-future.