Feed in Tariff Cut Hits Local Housing Tenants
8th December 2011
Some of Southampton’s poorest tenants are to be hit by the Government’s fast-tracked reduction in support for local solar power projects, Alan Whitehead MP can reveal.
Dr Whitehead has been contacted by local social housing provider The Hyde Group, who have informed him that over 100 solar installations due to go ahead on their housing stock in Southampton will now have to be cancelled because of the Government’s reduction financial support for locally generated electricity- known as the Feed in Tariff (FIT).
Once the installations were complete, Hyde tenants would have benefited from cheaper electricity and lower bills in the long term thanks to the energy generated through solar panels installed on their homes.
In a letter to Dr Whitehead, Hyde confirms:
“Cuts to unit values for large scale solar power installations will mean that some of the poorest Southampton Test residents will not be benefitting from lower energy bills... As a result of November’s announcement of the reduced unit price for all installations after 12 December 2011 we have had to drastically reduce our programme. It is now largely limited to some of our London properties and a small number of off-gas properties outside of London. These were identified as the ones that would benefit most from solar power and would be easiest to access and install the panels by 11 December.”
Dr Whitehead said:
“This is further evidence that the main losers of the Government’s decision to fast-track the reduction in support for the Feed in Tariff will not be the Big Six, who will absorb the loss and move on, but rather community projects and social housing tenants up and down the country.
“Local business and social landlords like Hyde were all led to believe by the Government that they would have until April 2012 before the FITS rate was reduced. Fast-tracking this cut will save less than £1 off an annual energy bill, but will condemn hundreds of families to higher energy prices for years to come. It’s an utterly short-sighted and self-defeating approach.”
The full text of the letter sent from The Hyde Group to Dr Whitehead is below:
Dear Dr Whitehead
Re: Solar panel installations at risk because of feed –in tariff cuts in Southampton Test
Cuts to unit values for large scale solar power installations will mean that some of the poorest Southampton Test residents will not be benefitting from lower energy bills. Some 104 properties which would have seen solar panels installed between now and March 2012 are now out of scope of Hyde’s planned installations. This is due to the cut-off point for higher unit values being brought forward from April 2012 to 12 December 2011.
Housing association the Hyde Group was planning to invest £10million into solar photovoltaic panels across its stock, which would have provided over 1000 installations benefitting over 8000 homes. Hyde had programmed these installations to take place between November and March, and we were imminently due to sign contracts.
As a result of November’s announcement of the reduced unit price for all installations after 12 December 2011 we have had to drastically reduce our programme. It is now largely limited to some of our London properties and a small number of off-gas properties outside of London. These were identified as the ones that would benefit most from solar power and would be easiest to access and install the panels by 11 December.
Unless the government reverses this decision the programme is being cut to around £1m, providing under 100 installations. There is still a small risk that Hyde’s programme will deliver far fewer panels than that.
We would therefore urge the Committee to call on the government to review the decision to bring forward the tariff reduction date for social housing installations so that some of the poorest households in the country can benefit from lower fuel bills and live in warmer homes.
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