“Dark days” of FiTs fiasco are done says solar boss

The “dark days” of the solar FiTs fiasco are over and it’s now time solar firms to pull out all the stops. That’s the view of solar trade body boss […]

The “dark days” of the solar FiTs fiasco are over and it’s now time solar firms to pull out all the stops.

That’s the view of solar trade body boss Reza Shaybani, who believes the solar industry needs to stop talking about what it deserves from the Government and instead show what it can do for the country.

The industry has recently been grappling with the Government over the level of solar Feed-in Tariff (FiT) subsidy, which DECC planned to halve at the end of last year. The spat even ended up at the Supreme Court, where a case was brought against the Energy Secretary by two firms and campaign group Friends of the Earth. They eventually won, forcing a government U-turn.

The British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA) chief agreed it is now time for the industry to move on.

Mr Shaybani told ELN: “We’ve moved beyond the dark days of the FiT fiasco. We need to focus on what the future will be. So far, everyone’s been speaking about what we want from Government and the taxpayers to support the industry.

“Now we’re saying, ‘OK, what are we doing as an industry for the nation, for the economy, for the Government?’

“We can’t have an industry in a failing economy. We all have to pull our weight. Solar PV is very capable of doing that.”

His comments come as the BPVA spearheads a new UK solar PV Charter, which sets out five aspirations for the industry.

Around 50 firms have signed up to the points, which include investing in the energy security of the UK; helping families by lowering energy bills and creating long-term jobs; providing “clean, safe and affordable energy”; sharing expertise with other countries and thus creating export opportunities; and cutting UK carbon emissions by mass adoption of solar PV.

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