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Changes Fit For AD success
I feel the recent announcement of a comprehensive review of the Feed in Tariff (FIT) system will bring welcome news to farmers and those involved in the development of farm-based Anaerobic Digestion (AD) technology.
Chris Huhne the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change launched the review which would “Assess all aspects of the scheme including tariff levels, administration and eligibility of the technologies”. This review has followed campaigns by the CLA and other industry bodies who feel the current FIT payments are too low to make AD a viable energy source.
Feed in Tariffs for farm-based AD plants will receive a fast track consideration and should see an increase in FIT payments outlined before the end of the year. Although the actual changes will not be set in place until April 2012 unless the review deems it necessary for greater urgency.
The changes will really push this technology forward. The current payments are too low and we have found that farm-scale AD is out of reach for most farmers. I fully anticipate a renewed interest from farmers and investors in this area by the end of the year.
The review would also see a likely reduction to the FITs for larger installations such as solar parks and rooftop installations over 50kW. The reductions in larger scale PV would seek to encourage the development of sub 50kW installations on domestic, commercial or agricultural buildings.
Unfortunately I don't feel the review of Feed in Tariffs for larger scale PV sends out a positive message for investing in renewables, especially if the Government are going to change payments at short notice. A lot of private investors are larger energy companies who have invested many millions in solar parks which may now not be financially viable.
For further information, please contact Mark Newton on 01858 411246 or email mark.newton@fishergerman.co.uk
Mark Newton owns a family farm and is a partner at Fisher German Chartered Surveyors.
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