Government Delays ROC Consultation Announcement
Following last week's leaked news that the government was planning a review of ROC bands for solar PV, the industry has been waiting for some sort of announcement that reveals a timetable of planned activity. Solar UK has learnt that the leak has sent reverberations back up the governmental chain of command and has delayed the release of the announcement until possibly the 14th or 15th of May.
The focus of the leaks last week were specifically on the large scale ground mounted PV arrays and although there has been no official word regarding if this is the case, there has been speculation that a grace period will be introduced to protect large investments already committed to the UK market. Solar UK has also been told that any changes will be implemented on a gradual basis over a couple of years.
DECC employees have been tight lipped about the details of the announcement but have pulled out of some speaking commitments since last week, suggestive they have been requested to keep quiet on the matter. Solar UK has heard that the decision to review the ROC programme had not been circulated through the governments own energy advisory body before it was made public. This has created an uneasy environment for the planned review so changing tack makes sense but the delays to an announcement only fuels the fires of doubt that arose from how the information was revealed.
Despite the concerns in some quarters the proposed review had been flagged by the government in recent months and the focus on roof top PV in the Solar Strategy made clear the intentions and focus. The fear in the industry is that the timing of the review, being much earlier than expected, is another knee jerk reaction from a government fearful of unplanned expenditure and responding to local concerns rather than the bigger energy picture.
