Supreme Court tell Government they can't appeal solar panel tariff bid

[mertle]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...d-7583718.html

Actually good news was right decision too. Once contract drawn agreed you should not be allowed to move terms and conditions. How much this government wasted on this fiasco. Cant been cheap going to supreme court hoping they would play ball.

Opponents have said that, if allowed, the proposals would put 29,000 jobs in the solar industry at risk.
They say projects have already been abandoned and jobs lost because of the uncertainty.
friends of the Earth's executive director Andy Atkins said: "This is the third court that's ruled that botched Government solar plans are illegal - a landmark decision which will prevent ministers causing industry chaos with similar subsidy cuts in future.

[nomadking]

The previous tariff was just over 43p per kilowatt-hour generated.
The new tariff of 21p per kilowatt-hour had been expected to come into effect from 1 April.

Are you paying anywhere near 21p per KWh for your electricity, never mind 43p. Even the proposed lower rate is ridiculous level of subsidy. Customers end up paying more for their electricity. How is that meant to help fuel poverty? How much of the generated solar power of any genuine use?

[Kymmy]

Current British Gas standard rate figures are

First 114 kWh x 27.139p
Next *** kWh x 14.421p

[nomadking]

That's still a lot less than 43p/KWh.
I pay 12.5p and I've seen somebody else on the internet state that they pay around the same.
It's not just how much they generate, but whether any normal generation is not needed and can be predicted not to be needed. Normal generation plants would still have to be built and operational. So no saving there.

From the Renewable Energy Foundation:-

Current renewable electricity policies intended to meet the EU Renewables Directive in 2020, will impose extra consumer costs of approximately £15bn per annum, which is roughly equivalent to 1% of current GDP. This annual total is comprised of approximately £8bn in subsidy, £5bn in grid integration, and a further £2bn in VAT charged on these extra costs.

1% of GDP just to subsidise useless technologies.

In Germany with their similar scheme, they pay out less than the retail prices.

The proposed cuts would see the feed in tariff subsidy falling to 19.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for small plants, and to 13.5 cents for plants of up to 10 megawatts. German retail electricity prices are between 21 and 24 cents per kWh.

[AndyCambs]

There was a story in the Mail the other week about the decline in "green" energy projects in the USA. I can't find a link, but effectively most of these schemes were based on government subsidies. When the subsidy ended, it wasn't economical to run the scheme. I think one of the issues was that the price of the green energy subsidy was based on oil prices.

I just wonder if it's such a brilliant deal, why does there need to be a government subsidy? Maybe it's just some tax scam?

[Alan Fry]

There goes the governments green credentials