A SCOTTISH renewables expert is to meet with Energy Minister Claire Perry to discuss Government policy changes that could have a lasting impact on the future cost benefits of solar panels in the UK.
George Goudsmit of solar panel company AES Solar based in Forres in Moray, is to meet with Perry after local MP Douglas Ross visited its premises and arranged the meeting to discuss the impact of policy changes that will come about in March.
He said: “We put a lot of time and effort into lobbying both the Scottish and UK Governments for the benefit of the industry, customers and our environment. We are solar energy specialists, it’s all we do so it is critical that we campaign for fair and sensible policies and we will communicate that to Claire Perry when we meet.”
Currently, the feed-in tariff provides a payback for excess energy solar customers generate. If the tariff is removed, as it is proposed in March, these customers could end up supplying large energy companies with power free of charge, which in turn could be sold back to the public, with no benefit to the customer who generated it.
Perry told the House of Commons that “it would be wrong to have power provided to the grid for free”. However, Goudsmit said the plan to remove the export tariff remains with no alternative proposed.
Ross visited the company in December. He said: “A Government consultation is now under way looking into suppliers paying small-scale green electricity generators for the electricity they put into the national grid.
“I was keen to raise this with the Energy Minister following an excellent visit I had to Forres-based AES Solar recently. I sought reassurances from Claire Perry that the responses to this consultation would be listened to, after 91% of respondents to a previous consultation by her department were opposed to the ending of export tariffs, yet it looks like this will go ahead. I was also keen to get the minister to meet with AES Solar to learn more about the great work they are doing and listen to their concerns and I am glad she has agreed to this meeting.”
Perry said she believed the era of crude subsidies was over and added: “We are trying to ensure we bring forward the centralised energy that we believe is so important to this system going forward and I would be very interested in his and his constituents’ views.”
Goudsmit said: “We agree with the minister that ‘crude tariffs’ are long gone. All we want is clarity for our customers about how the export tariff will look and when we can expect it to be in place.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here