Future for small-scale renewables ‘remains bleak’ as FIT closure looms

More than 700MW of small green power schemes have been installed in Scotland by homeowners and businesses since the opening of the soon to be closed feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme in 2010, according to new figures.

The 700MW of installed generation, which is based on an analysis of Ofgem’s FIT deployment statistics carried out by Scottish Renewables, equates to 60,000 solar panels per annum or 180 small wind turbines.

The FIT closes at the end of March, making the small renewable projects that it has supported harder to finance, said Scottish Renewables.

Hannah Smith, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said the FIT scheme had been “tremendously important” in supporting small-scale renewables and its closure means the future for the sector “remains bleak”.

She said: “The end of the feed-in tariff at the end of this month (31 March) will mean, at best, a period of enormous uncertainty for the companies that install these projects and for the people who work for them.

“Though government has launched some proposed market mechanisms for electricity exports, for the majority of technologies the feed-in tariff supported, the future remains bleak.

“Without government action to safeguard these technologies and the benefits they can bring, the end of this tariff could spell the end for a sector which has an important role to play in our drive towards a decarbonised smart energy system.”

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) confirmed that it will scrap the FIT scheme last year.

The Renewable Energy Association previously urged the government to come up with a replacement.