E is for Energy

Why is our government wasting time? Why is this current coalition cutting funding to renewable clean energy? We have seen interest in solar drop until it is critically hampered. Could it be an accident that the history of UK funding for renewable energy has started then stopped time after time? Is it some unique properties of the UK energy system that makes connecting to the grid difficult, costly to consumers and hinders the progress of renewable energy? Is it an accident of fortune that this government decided to radically cut the funding for the Feed In Tariff? Is it a cruel twist of fate that David Cameron went to France just after the FIT cuts were finally in place to sign a deal with the French to build a new nuclear power plant? I don’t think so! I think the “The Greenest Government Ever” is a total lie.

Only 2% believe David Cameron is leading ‘greenest government ever’

I Saw Russell Brand’s Messiah Complex show tonight. It was reverent, hilarious, controversial, and covered many of the subjects I will be discussing in other books in The Alphabet Revolution series.
I gave him a note which asked him for an interview for my book. I hope that he will call me or visit the blog. I think that we may have a lot in common when it comes to starting a peaceful revolution.
Here is his Messiah Complex

As a country we are ready to embrace the renewable future we need today. All the technology and systems are available now. The people want to see more renewable energy, without having to pay over the odds to get it. The government has done studies that show clearly that not employing the renewable energy measures now will cost us all dearly in the future. We will suffer many woes from a broken climate to the increasing difficulties of feeding our population. We may even run out of the very power we need to heat and light our homes. If we have all the necessary tools what, is stopping us from dealing with the crisis?

An article proving the point!

“Inverness South councilor is barred by the local authority from taking part in determining wind farm planning applications because of his negative views.”

Germany employs more people than the UK in the renewable sector. This is one of the biggest lost opportunities within the debate. The UK has always been a global leader in the invention, design, and manufacturing industries. Now we are failing to encourage the renewable sector to grow new jobs. This job growth is vital to our economic recovery. Government support and investment in renewable energy will pay huge dividends far into the future. Investing now in new technology will secure England’s financial future and return the UK to world prominence.

In Germany there are, as of September 2013, 35 Gigawatts of solar energy installed. This compares very poorly to the UK’s 1gigawatt of solar capacity. With all the starts and stops-the funding and then the cuts-the solar industry in the UK does not know if it is coming or going. More to the point the customers who would buy solar for their homes and their businesses have lost interest in this technology. We have just 1/35th of the solar Germany has and we have wasted over 3.5yrs precious time. This is time we and our planet’s climate do not have to waste.

The graph below shows the change this FIT cut has had in the solar industry and the peak before the cut. We now are returning to the lowest levels of installations for solar that occurred before the FIT was introduced. The cost for new solar installations on domestic roofs has not fallen as quickly as the FIT, as our government claims. This is causing a hold-up in the new solar installations the UK needs in order to expand our renewable energy sources.

Graph of installations returns to a flat line!

The graph below shows the truth of interest in solar.

Before the FIT cuts were announced, the domestic solar market was doing well. There was no great rush to domestic rooftop solar. There was a steady slow increase in the installation of new systems. This is similar to the pattern in Germany. The planned reduction in the UK FIT of 1% to 3% provided for the slow growth of installations and the gradual reduction in the price of solar systems. Companies opened for business and they did well. New jobs were created and more taxes came in to the government purse. After the FIT was announced there was a huge rush to buy and install solar before the deadline. There were over 700,000 installations during the last few months before the cuts.

Graph by week of solar installs.

The original plan for the FIT in the UK was the same as Germany’s: an expected reduction gradually over time as more solar and wind energy systems and other renewable technologies came online. The current government decided soon after taking office to radically reduce the FIT by more than half! This created a rapid drop in new solar installs after the FIT dropped. We are now left with a reward system that does not encourage new domestic solar installations: system which barely allows for a 20 year break-even point for the average size domestic solar installation. This has destroyed our solar industry. Thousands of employees are now out of work and many companies have now closed.

Weekly Solar Installs

In Germany, where the FIT scheme has been in operation for over 15 years, the installation of solar systems, large and small, has been massive! Solar and wind energy has blossomed like daisies in spring. Germany now boasts the largest renewable generation of any nation on earth. Nearly 25% of electricity produced in Germany is from renewable sources. The German FIT has been gradually reduced over its lifetime in increments as small as 2 or 3 percent per year. The costs for energy have gone down in Germany.

The UK parliament has passed several measures to compel energy companies to reduce CO2 emissions. Parliament has also enacted several plans to induce businesses and home owners to adopt energy saving measures and renewable technologies. One of these measures is the Feed In Tariff. The FIT in the UK started out at 41.3p per Kw/h produced for a homeowner with solar on the roof. Lower payments for commercial solar arrays and solar farms were available. Wind energy and hydroelectric energy systems also received FIT payments as do anaerobic digesters and other methods of generating energy using a renewable source. All of these FIT payments cost little to the average consumer of electricity and created a large increase in the installation of solar systems, wind farms and other renewable energy systems.