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The government’s latest subsidy proposals for large solar and biomass have received a cool response from industry. The Department of Energy and ­Climate Change now proposes to cut large photovoltaic subsidies to 1.5 Renewables Obligation Certificates (Rocs) in 2013 instead of 2015. The Renewable Energy Association (REA) said the 25 per cent cut was “too much”.

Meanwhile, the biomass consultation proposes a cap on new plant, cutting support for standard co-firing biomass to 0.3 Rocs per megawatt-hour from 1 April 2013 until 1 April 2015 and removing extra subsidy for energy crops.

Decc also proposes toughening sustainability criteria and extending them to generators of 1MWe or more from October 2013.

The REA said capping relatively cheap biomass was “not helpful”.

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 14th September 2012.

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