Solarcentury, one of the UK’s leading solar installation companies, says it has stopped recruiting and halted "all orders" from suppliers because of a fast-track review by the Government to cut the Feed-in Tariff (FiT).
Solarcentury also confirmed that it was considering taking legal action against the Government because the proposed timeline for cutting
tariffs could go against primary
legislation.
"We are discussing options [for legal action] with the industry, including the Solar Trade Association," Charlotte Webster, public relations manager at Solarcentury said.
The company has not yet been forced to make any job cuts, but has "completely removed all jobs" from its UK recruitment website pages and is "halting all orders from suppliers" in anticipation of a sudden and sharp cut in the FiT, Webster added.
Climate change minister Greg Barker
announced on Monday that, subject to consultation, the FiT rate for systems up to four kilowatt (kW) in size would be more than halved to 21 pence per kilowatt hour (p/kWh) from the current 43.3 p/kWh. Reduced rates would also apply to bigger schemes under the FiT. The changes would mean that any project registered on or after December 12, would see its tariff slashed by April 1 2012.
Legal challenge
Solarcentury is one of a number of organisations now looking into the legality of the proposed action to see if it goes against the Government’s promise not apply the FiT retrospectively. Solarcentury and others believe their case is strengthened because the Government’s consultation over the cuts ends on December 23, several days after the December 12 deadline.
"The dates when the FiT will be changed go against primary legislation," Webster said.
Solarcentury is one of many companies in the
renewable energy sector warning of massive jobs cuts and company closures if the FiT cuts go ahead as proposed.
Fuel poverty schemes hardest hit
The company has managed over 9,000 installations and is ranked as one of the UK's fastest growing private renewable energy companies, having seen its revenue rise from £19 million in 2008 to £50 million in 2011. But it is now retracting from "thousands of installations", according to Webster, who said the side of the business that will be hardest hit are fuel poverty schemes, where third party investors are required.
"Chris Huhne’s excuse for cutting the FiT is that more people will have money in their pocket, but that’s simply not true. We’re trying to alleviate fuel poverty," she said.
It’s a position shared by Alex Lockton, managing director of Freesource Energy, who said his company had raised £20 million for fuel poverty schemes, including 'free solar’, but would now only be able to deploy a percentage of this due to the rapid cut.
"It has also scuppered some excellent ethical schemes with housing associations, whose tenants would have seen tangible benefits from solar really quickly," Lockton commented.
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