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Strong warning to Government on feed-in tariffs
Simon Rigby
FARMGEN, the UK’s leading expert in ‘energy farming’, has warned the Government must get its review of feed-in tariffs for technologies other than solar power right – or face the consequences of a stalling industry.
The Government was recently defeated in the courts after trying to reduce the feed-in tariff for solar energy early.
Energy minister Greg Barker says reforms will provide greater confidence for consumers and those investing in green technologies.
The Government has launched a consultation period that closes on April 26 and says it plans to make tariffs more predictable.
The review includes potential tariff guarantees for wind, Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and hydro projects to give greater certainty about rates of return.
Farmgen, based at Whitehills business park, and led by Fylde green energy entrepreneur Simon Rigby, plans to bring a string of farm-based AD plants on stream this year, as part of a £30m UK expansion programme.
He said: “The Government’s stop-start approach and continual direction changing has done nothing to secure confidence in the future of renewable energy and has made it increasingly difficult to get investment decisions.
“This really is its final chance to get things right and to put in place measures that will bring confidence and a sense there is a credible policy and direction from Government that is robust and will stand up to scrutiny.
“The mess it got itself into over the solar feed-in tariffs was extremely harmful to the whole renewable energy sector. It must not repeat the mistakes of the past.
“Only last June we had the results of a consultation and to say it was disappointing is putting it mildly.”
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Weather for Blackpool
Wednesday 30 May 2012
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