Pack up your panels with no FiT snag
Businesses on the move will be free to take their solar panels with them without losing Feed-in Tariff (FiT) payments, under government plans out for consultation.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is seeking views on allowing medium and large building-mounted solar PV installations to be moved between buildings without loss of the payments.
With around 250,000 hectares of south-facing commercial rooftops, there’s massive potential in the UK to turn buildings into power stations, helping to cut energy bills, reduce pressure on the grid and create jobs, the government believes.
Launching the consultation, energy minister Amber Rudd said: “Around 900 businesses already use solar PV – but I want to see more generating their own electricity. There’s potential for significant growth in this area so it’s vital that we remove the barriers which prevent businesses from benefiting.”
At the moment if a FiT accredited installation is moved it becomes ineligible for further support. DECC says allowing the panels and the tariff to move with their owner will make solar PV a much more attractive investment for landlords and tenants who can’t guarantee they’ll have long-term ownership or lease of a building.
The definition of building-mounted solar under the Feed-in Tariff will be amended to require the building to use at least 10 per cent of the electricity generated.
