Ed Miliband: Feed-in tariff plan not ambitious enough?
Ed Miliband, Britain’s energy and climate change secretary, has announced generous feed-in tariffs for small scale producers of renewable energy.
The tariffs, which are slated to begin in April, are meant to help the country achieve its goal of meeting 2 percent of electricity demand from small scale renewable installations by 2020.
The government’s release reads:
From 1 April householders and communities who install low carbon electricity technology such as solar photovoltaic (pv) panels and wind turbines up to 5 megawatts will be paid for the electricity they generate, even if they use it themselves.
The Guardian notes, however, that the 2 percent goal for small-scale renewable still falls short of the 6 percent that environmental groups are pushing for. The country has a target of 30 percent of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020.
However, the tariffs will be indexed to inflation.
A 2.5KW PV system could earn a family £900 a year and save them £140 on their annual electricity bill, according to the scheme.
Bloomberg notes that that the higher cost for renewable energy in Germany and Spain has led to consumer backlash, though the tariffs have spurred strong growth in renewables in both countries. Germany is currently considering cuts to its rates.