The government made the announcement in the Department of Energy and Climate Change paper The Renewable Heat Incentive: A reformed and refocused scheme. Under the proposals, solar will be cut out of the Renewable Heat Incentive as early as next year.
The news surprised the renewables sector, especially as energy secretary Amber Rudd had previously highlighted solar as a target area to get the UK back on track to meet its 2020 renewable targets. There is a self-imposed target of reaching 12% renewable heat by 2020, but in 2014 the figure stood at only 4.8%.
Barwell said: “This proposal simply doesn’t make sense. The government acknowledges the many benefits of solar thermal, yet proposes singling it out for the removal of financial support. With UK renewable heat deployment falling desperately behind target, government should be full-square behind this technology as part of a strategic plan to permanently bring down heating costs for British families.”
He added: “Manufacturers of solar thermal equipment, including cylinder manufacturers as well as installers, risk a full scale winding-up of their sector. We are urging government to think again, particularly since sales enquiries are on the rise.”
The news comes a day after the cross-party House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee criticised the government for damaging investor confidence in the sector.
Transient and inconsistent policies, along with a lack of a long-term vision, are factors the committee has pinpointed as behind falling investor confidence.
On a lack of long-term strategy, the report reads: “Unfortunately, again, this is an area where the government has not performed well to date. For the six months following the election, the government did not set out a positive vision about how it envisaged the power sector evolving over time.”
