Tell the UK Government not to cut solar and wind power subsidies!

The UK Government is planning to cut subsidies for solar and wind power by up to 87%, whilst giving billions of taxpayers' money to privately owned nuclear power projects. This will put renewable industries at risk. Sign now to tell the Government not to cut subsidies for renewables!

Currently, solar panels are more affordable because extra energy you don't use is 'sold back' to the grid, to be used by others. This 'feed-in-tariff' (FiT) income pays for the initial installation costs over time. The FiT is what the Government want to cut, by 87%! This will make solar panels unaffordable to many people and will have serious impacts on this industry which is just beginning to get going. The fewer people that buy solar panels, the more expensive they become to manufacture.

The CEO of SolarCentury said, "If the consultation is enacted, we can expect to see a wholesale collapse in solar take-up by homeowners and businesses". Panasonic said these cuts will "inevitably and irreversibly" cause "substantial damage".

The VP of Endurance Wind Power said, "For DECC to pull the rug from under the industry's feet at this stage would not only be hugely counterproductive as we move towards a landmark new climate change agreement at COP21, but would also threaten to undermine the existence of scores of British businesses."

Please sign this petition against cutting renewable subsidies now - it will be emailed to the Department of Energy and Climate Change to their consultation before their 23 October 2015 deadline. Please include any comments you have as an energy bill payer and potential or current user of solar panels as those will be included too.

The VP of Endurance Wind Power also said, "The FiT is currently doing all the things it was created to do and, through significant investment in innovation and the UK supply chain, small-scale wind manufacturers have made huge progress in pushing down technology costs."

The Conservative Government say the current renewable energy subsidy scheme of feed-in-tariffs is unaffordable and too costly to consumers who pay the subsidies. However, they have just given £2 billion of taxpayers' money to EDF's nuclear energy plant, Hinkley Point. Energy company profits rose ten-fold since 2007, with the Big Six companies making more than £1.1 billion in 2013. There is no reason for renewable energy subsidies to impact the cost to the consumer - it could come from energy company profits. Even better - energy companies could be nationalised and all profits could then be invested into renewables.

The petition text, your comments and postcode will be emailed to:

FIT Review Team
FITreview@decc.gsi.gov.uk
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