Wholesale electricity prices will rise by at least 40 per cent over the next ten years, according to a survey of leading industry figures. More than 90 per cent of those questioned in the survey to mark the 10th anniversary of independent generation consolidator SmartestEnergy said they believed prices in 2021 will be higher in real terms than in 2011. Fewer than one in ten respondents said they expected wholesale prices to be the same or lower.

Friends of the Earth is taking the government to court over its plans to slash financial incentives for households and communities that install solar electricity, the environmental campaigning charity confirmed today after Ministers failed to respond to concerns it set out in a legal letter last week.

As the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced a reduction in the Feed-in Tariff’ (FiT) last week (31 October 2011), Peter Searancke, managing director of Leicester-based Intelligent Energy Solutions, advises consumers that this is the right time to make the switch to solar energy, as the current subsidy is fixed for 25 years. The need to switch now is even more pertinent particularly with traditional energy suppliers predicting increases of up to 15 per cent as winter looms. Currently, homeowners who have had small scale solar panels installed receive a FiT subsidy of 43p per kWh but this is set to decrease to 21p per kWh, with effect from 12 December 2011. Whilst the reduction is not as dramatic as many industry experts had feared, some had predicted a drop as low as 9p per kWh, it is still likely to prompt a pre-Christmas ‘rush’ as households look to secure a premium price for the next quarter of a century. 

New research shows that over half of British companies in the solar industry will slash their workforce by over 50 per cent due to cuts to Feed-in Tariffs  announced by the UK government, which are to start in December 2011. Stephen Hill, partner at international law firm Eversheds comments: “Whilst a change in the tariff rate has been expected within the industry, the nature and speed in which it is proposed to be implemented has devastated the sector. The back dated nature of the procedure by which the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is pushing this through is unique and leaves the UK government highly exposed to a potential claim for judicial review by participants in the industry. The uncertain nature of the consultation will affect thousands of jobs in this nascent green industry and affects the government’s credibility for all renewable projects.”

A manufacturer and solar pioneer has spoken out about the government Feed-in Tariff cuts, just as the UK had put faith into sustainable opportunities from solar energy.

In response to the government’s sudden and unexpected decision to fast-track solar tariff cuts, many companies involved in the provision of solar PV systems are desperate to complete as many installations as possible to ensure customers receive the old tariff.