'We need to problem solve, not blame'

RE: “New solar plan is victim of cut” – by David Walsh, News Reporter, The Star 6th December 2012

The Feed-in Tariff (FITs) scheme was set-up to ‘kick-start’ the PV industry. I fully support the scheme, yet it has been poorly devised and is un-equitable. A low income household, even on fuel poverty, will pay a subsidy on their electricity bill to the energy supplier - and this will be then passed on to households that can afford FITs installations.

The new tariff at 21p/kWh is within the lifespan of the array. I don’t see why the Sheffield City Council is axing their Solar-City plan. The effect of free electricity may make to a fuel poor house is significant. I believe it might even bring people out of fuel poverty!

Support to the fuel poor electricity costs is necessary e.g. FITs and vouchers for purchasing low energy appliances.

The cost of the PV FITs installations are reducing thus effecting payback period – We need to ask: what subsidy is appropriate for the reduced payback period?

I do not support the Liberal Democrats supporting the Conservative Party in their coalition to reduce the tariff to 21p, and in some cases 9p, but would agree that even though the payback would be over a longer period of time, the Solar City project could still be viable. We need to problem solve, not blame. This goes for both the Labour and Liberal Democrat Sheffield City Council members.

Sheffield tenants will lose out because both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have chosen to blame, not problem solve, to come up with solutions to improve the local people’s lives.

This is truly a superb exercise in “cutting off your nose, to spite your face”, although in this case, it’s “cutting the nose off council tenants, to spite the coalition government”.

David Garlovsky,
Project Director at Solar-Active