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Renewables subsidies are slashed in UK. Solar, Wind, Hydro industry “shocked”

Renewable power is always as “cheap as coal” except when subsidies are slashed, then it’s “the end”, “terrible”, and “fragile”.

If only renewable power could actually compete with coal.

Greenclick tells us the UK solar industry is “reeling” in “shock and anger” as the UK conservative government cuts the renewables feed-in tariff there by as much as 86%. Even for the hydro industry (about the only renewable industry that can survive on its own), the news could spell the “end”.

Joss Blamire, Senior Policy Manager at Scottish Renewables, which represents more than 300 green energy businesses, said: “The proposals in the Comprehensive Feed-in Tariff Review are, quite simply, terrible news for homeowners, businesses, communities and those local authorities which have plans in place to develop renewable energy schemes.

“The levels of reduction in support announced today will severely curtail development of small-scale onshore wind and solar projects and endanger jobs and investments across the country.

“The cuts could also spell the end for much of the hydro industry, which has enjoyed a recent renaissance but relies more heavily on Government support because of the length of time taken to develop projects and the sector’s high capital costs.”

“If the consultation is enacted, we can expect to see a wholesale collapse in solar take up by homeowners and businesses – just at a point in time when most other countries are escalating their solar deployment having seen the dramatic impact the technology can make in tackling climate change.

The fountain of endless cheap energy is always almost, nearly, just-around-the-corner:

“The timing couldn’t be worse as the young and potentially booming solar industry is on track to go subsidy free but if these cuts happen, it will be too sudden, too soon and too dramatic. It is highly likely to irrevocably damage the domestic solar industry.

Hear all the many benefits of renewables…

Strangely, they don’t mention how the solar panels will cool the world. I thought that was the point?

Mr Blamire told how renewables developed under the Feed-in Tariff scheme have brought multiple benefits – all of which are now in jeopardy.

He added: “Support for small-scale renewable energy has enabled the public to share in the recent success of the green energy industry, saving on their energy bills and doing their bit to mitigate carbon emissions from our power sector.

The public that shared in the “success”, also paid for it. What does success mean when an industry produces something no one wants to buy, unless they are enticed by forced payments from other citizens?

Is it “success” if we make lower and middle class taxpayers poorer to offset electricity bills for people wealthy enough to “buy solar”? Is it “success” if taxpayers prop up a whole industry that always lobbies to increase the tax burden. It’s “positive feedback”. ;- ). The tax that begets more tax.

Seems the benefits are so weak, and renewables so useless, the advocates resort to justifying them for “price stability”. (Yes, electricity will be predictably expensive).

“FiT-scale renewables have allowed both rural and urban businesses to grow by taking control of their own energy use and insulating them from the volatile, uncertain costs of imported fossil fuels. Reducing that support so far, and so quickly, could be hugely damaging.”

But there are other ways. If those businesses in need of stability wanted to pay 2 – 5 times as much for electricity  there might just be a few coal companies (say “all”) willing to write those futures contracts and guarantee that supply.

The ugly truth — British families won’t want solar:

Juliet Davenport, chief executive of Good Energy, said: “The proposed cuts mean that installing solar panels at home will no longer be attractive to British families.”

 That’s what happens when it is a terrible product. It’s called the “free market”.

Apparently renewables is “democratic” energy?

“The Feed in Tariff has transformed the way the UK generates its power over the last 3 years, with over 22% of the UK’s power coming from renewables in the early part of 2015, and over 700,000 homes generating their own power. It’s helped to take us away from the old-fashioned fossil fuel companies to a cleaner, local, more democratic system.”

I do believe cutting the subsidies is democracy at work.

Most of the time we hear how competitive and cheap renewable energy is. But as soon as the subsidies are cut, the truth comes out.

 

h/t GWPF

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