Energy and utilities public relations

Fast-track review of Feed-In Tarriffs published

This 'review within a review' seems to have been designed to curtail the UK's embryonic solar electricity industry. There is a secondary look at 'farm-based' anaerobic digestion.

The government published its response to the consultation on 9th June 2011.

In effect it said it was ignoring the vast majority of responses to the consultation and pressing ahead with its original proposals (see here).

House of Lords questions outcome 24th June 2011

The House of Lords Merits Committee's latest report has drawn the Government’s proposals to the special attention of the House. This creates the opportunity peers to call for a debate and even a vote on the issue. Our parent company was one of the signatories to the letter their lordships refer to at 6(i).

System extensions - secondary consultation 27th July 2011

The government later introduced a further consultation on proposals to prevent system extensions claiming the FITs registration date of the original system. See further details here.

Scope and timetable

This sub-review was limited just to considering changes to the tariff levels for PV. The consultation on this element was published on 18th March and closed on 6th May 2011. The government response was published on 9th June.

Government would like to get the legislative changes through before the summer recess in July 2011, with the new tariffs to take effect from 1st August.