UK Government Confirms Plan To End Key Rooftop Solar Support

A key policy for UK rooftop solar will end in the spring.

The export tariff will close to new applicants at the same time as the generation tariff, the government has confirmed, despite overwhelming opposition to the plans.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy confirmed the news in a response to this summer's consultation, claiming a fixed and flat-rate export tariff does "not align with the wider government objectives" of a move toward market-based solutions.

The feed-in tariff scheme will therefore now close in full to new applicants from 31 March 2019. However, the government has noted responses to the consultation which stressed the need for a route to market for small-scale generators after the expiration of the scheme, and has committed to report on specific proposals for such arrangements "in due course".

Furthermore, BEIS has also decided to implement some time-limited extensions proposed for all 'MCS-scale' – expressly defined as solar and wind systems with a net capacity of 50kW or less – that have not pre-registered as a school or community energy installation from 31 January to 31 March 2020.

Other conclusions reached in the consultation document include;

There will be no reallocation of unused capacity that had been budgeted for, said to be in line with the government's commitment to keeping energy bills as low as possible;

Net costs of metered exports will be brought into the levelisation process, to be applied to metered exports from installations of all sizes into effect for FiT year 10 on 1 April 2019;

The average time-weighted system sell price will be used to determine the value of metered export to FiT licensees.

However, the government has said it will spend more time examining the possible effect of replacing older generating equipment with newer, more efficient panels, with a more detailed consultation set to follow.

Some people said horizontal panel could bring higher power generation efficiency, it is not absolute. If you just put the panels on pitched roof, or with small angle, there is no difference on power generation efficiency. If installation site is open ground, and solar mount comes with big angle, as long as the space is large enough, the shadow of front array does not affect the rear one, power generation efficiency will also be the same.