The boss of a wind power company has demanded that planning applications for industrial solar farms “should be stopped at the first hurdle”.

Kevin Parslow, chief executive of Evance Wind, believes large scale solar facilities present the greatest threat to the government’s Feed-in-Tariff scheme.

His comments come after Energy Minister Greg Barker vowed to act over any such solar scheme which was draining the FiT kitty.

Mr Parslow said: “We welcome the response from Greg Barker but action speaks far louder than words. Mr Barker said that if he found any large scale solar projects to be taking money away from the Feed-in-Tariff scheme, he would act.

“The fact is it’s already happening. There are solar farms in operation today, and many more in planning, that could swallow up most of the available Feed-in-Tariff, which was designed to help homeowners and small businesses to implement renewable energy, which would benefit them and the UK as a whole.”

Mr Parslow urged: “Planning applications for industrial solar farms should be stopped at the first hurdle, and it’s that decisive action that will protect the Feed-in-Tariffs.”

He added that there is “a general misapprehension” that solar panels are the only option for homeowners to benefit from Feed-in-Tariffs.

“We’re not the sunniest European country, but we’re definitely one of the windiest. Small wind turbines give people throughout the UK, not just the sunny southwest, the ability to make the most out of Feed-in-Tariffs, with the windiest regions able to generate a significant return on investment. However, that financial benefit will only be available if the Feed-in-Tariff is not being siphoned off by ambitious businesses.”

Loughborough-based Evance Wind has been manufacturing and supplying small wind turbines for over 10 years, with installations in the UK, the US and as far afield as Madagascar.