Support for Feed in Tariff scheme

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Truro-based environmental consultant Wardell Armstrong International (WAI) has met with St Austell and Truro MP Matthew Taylor to discuss how businesses can best take advantage of the Government’s new ‘Feed in Tariff’ scheme.

From tomorrow (April 1), individuals and organisations can cash-in on the low carbon electricity they produce if using green technologies such as wind turbines or photovoltaic (solar) panels.

For example, the average household uses about 4,500 kilowatt hours of electricity a year. If 2,500 kilowatt hours are generated through micro-renewables that will mean a payment of around £800 per year tax-free, depending on the type of technology.

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Haydn Scholes, director responsible for energy and sustainable development at Wardell Armstrong International, said: “This is a bold move by the Government and worth supporting. Traditionally the long or in some cases non-existent payback times for micro-renewable technologies plus the high initial installation costs have been a barrier to popular uptake of micro-renewables.

“With the Feed in Tariff, low-carbon electricity will become truly affordable for all households and not just something for the chattering classes to impress the neighbours with.”

Taylor said: “This is extremely good news in delivering environmentally friendly heat and power throughout the region and will substantially help towards people’s bills.”

“Fortunately, Cornwall’s burgeoning renewable energy industry is well positioned to cope with demand and will benefit from this piece of legislation in terms of stimulating growth within this technological sector.”

1 COMMENT

  1. The new ‘Feed-in Tariffs’ may be good news for solar and small-scale wind power where there are standard products, but it will be a total disaster for small scale hydro that requires bespoke solutions. As it stands the paperwork and cost of getting each and every project ‘accredited’ would cost as much as the plant itself for small units less than 10 kW or so. As for traditional waterwheels, these will definitely be ‘non-compliant items’ so there is no prospect of converting them to generate green electricity. Isn’t it a pity that in ‘going green’ the Government will wipe-out those businesses that have pioneered the field in this country.

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