Sun sets on green energy scheme

The government is considering a 5 kilowatt limit for its more generous feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity schemes. Cornwall's landowners had been hoping for a £1billion gold rush - but now the next wave of planning applications for large-scale projects might be the last. The 5KW limit is 100 times smaller than originally planned.

The Secretary of State for Energy Chris Huhne announced at the beginning of February that the Government was intending to carry out a fast track consultation on proposed changes to the tariff, which provides financial support for renewable electricity production at local level. Today's announcement of the timetable for the consultation means that Cornwall Council has just six weeks to persuade the Government to re-consider this proposal.

Julian German, the Council's cabinet member responsible for the green energy programme, says the Government is giving confusing messages to local councils:

"The Council has followed Government's guidelines which allow us to generate green electricity and then sell it. It is hard to believe that only six months after creating the legislation which allow us to take this route, they are now considering taking away the incentive that made it so financially viable. We are extremely disappointed that on one hand the Secretary of State announced that local authorities have the opportunity to generate and sell electricity from renewable technologies, and yet now, on the other hand, they are planning changes to the feed-in tariff which is central to the profitability of our plans to take up this opportunity."