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Scottish Renewables has revealed that Scotland is embracing home-grown energy with 600,000 solar panels installed, but warns that subsidy cuts are already punishing the sector.
Scotland has 42,000 solar schemes, 2,557 small wind projects, 204 hydro-electric schemes and three anaerobic digesters powering homes, businesses and community buildings.
Scottish Renewable’s policy manager Stephanie Clark warned that cuts already planned for subsidies are having a detrimental impact.
“Last month the industry heard major changes were planned for the Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme – changes which would make many projects unviable.”
“Within the next month we’re expecting further cost-cutting proposals to be announced.”
A consultation on the changes closes today. The Department for Energy and Climate Change is set to report on the expected cuts in mid-September, with a wholesale review of FiT also set to start in days.
Clark said: “Small-scale renewables can continue to thrive in the UK, but the sector urgently needs confirmation that it has the backing of the Government.”
In March the Solar Trade Association opened a branch of the organisation in Edinburgh after its figures revealed installed solar capacity rose by a third in the last year in Scotland.
The country has 23 per cent more small-scale renewables per capita than England and Wales, and almost eight times as much small-scale wind.
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