Well known Cornish heating and eco energy installer, Govan Ltd, has voiced its support of the Government’s announcement yesterday to review whether large scale solar developments should be able to use financial incentives originally devised for smaller scale installs and their immediate end users.
The Government’s decision to conduct a review into solar farms using the solar cash incentive, known as the Feed-In Tariff (FiT), should, according to Govan Ltd’s MD Daryl Govan, ensure consumers are the immediate beneficiaries of the FiT ‘fund’, and support local businesses who have geared up for the forecast boom in green technology.
He said: “Solar farms, although valuable in their contribution to sustainable energy, are currently eating into and threatening the future of a FiT fund that was meant to incentivise consumers to purchase solar systems themselves; if this carries on it will inevitably have a huge knock on effect on the longevity of the FiT fund and consumers benefitting from it – and equally affect installers, like Govan, of small scale solar systems.”
Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, said: “‘The renewables industry is a vital piece in the green growth jigsaw and this review will provide long-term certainty while making sure homes, communities and small firms are encouraged to produce their own green electricity.”
It is considered that the Government review will not halt the build of large scale solar developments, but shall look to prevent such developments from being eligible for the FiT tariff.
Daryl Govan continues: “By restricting the FiT to small scale installs, smaller businesses get a look in on a growing industry, householders are financially incentivised, and the UKs green targets remain on track, with existing builds being used as mini energy-generators.
“We are not against large scale solar developments; we think they provide a major contribution to our sustainable electricity generation targets. However, the FiT incentive was originally intended for the support of micro-generation technologies – the clue is in the name – so the Government’s review simply serves to put the incentive back on track.”
Govan Ltd, celebrating 10 years of trading this year, is celebrating its landmark anniversary by being one of the first companies in the South West to gain Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation in all solar hot water systems, solar electricity systems, heat pumps, and micro-combined heat and power renewable technologies.