Friday 3 September 2010

Award-winner SolarCentury joins signatories warning Chris Huhne to protect microgeneration incentives

Solarcentury: 2007 Ashden Award winner
Solar PV roof, Boatemah Walk social housing development, Lambeth, London

A coalition of green, countryside and housing groups, including Ashden Award winner SolarCentury, has written to Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy. The signatories urge the secretary of state to rethink the idea of slashing budgets for decentralised renewable energy incentives, such as the feed-in-tariff and renewable heat incentive.

They warn that reducing funding for the decentralised generation of sustainable energy will put both jobs and energy security at risk. There has been a recent upsurge in the numbers of microgeneration technologies installed, and, as Germany has shown, market forces reduce the costs of these technologies in the long run. Axing such a stimulus now, the letter warns, will be regressive.

As an alternative, this wide-ranging group of signatories (from the National Farmers' Union to the TUC) recommends energy efficiency measures be pursued to offset the costs of installations.

More about the work of SolarCentury can be found on our website.

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