We might get FIT at last!

According to the Guardian, UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks has suggested that Feed In Tariffs (FITs) might be introduced in this country. A Feed-In Tariff gives a premium price for small scale renewable electricity generators who want to export energy to 'the Grid'. This has led to an explosion in solar PV panels in countries such as Germany.

At long blimmin' last! The UK's Low Carbon Buildings Programme of grants for microrenewables has been an unmitigated disaster and our current export arrangements couldn't make it any more difficult for the little guys.

The UK's Climate is Gloomy

I'm an angry man. I've just brought up the Guardian's Environment webpage, and it makes depressing reading. Three headlines:

- Labour's plan to abandon renewable energy targets
- Energy efficiency funds withdrawn
- Carbon output rising faster, study says

In other words, we're producing more carbon and the Government is more interested in ducking their targets than addressing the issue. The Germans have shown that renewables can be boosted using the right incentives, such as a feed-in tariff which guarantees a price for all for excess energy exported to the grid. So why are we stuck with a terrible grant scheme?

And it's Energy Awareness Week...

Renewables grants "now too difficult"

I reported some time ago that the UK's "Low Carbon Buildings Programme" grant programme for domestic renewables was to be relaunched with tighter restrictions to stop the flood of applications on the first of each month. Well, guess what, according to the Guardian, the flood of applications has dwindled to a trickle as home owners have found the conditions too onerous.

There are now mounting calls to introduce a so called 'feed in' tariff for local generation - this would give householders a big incentive to export electricity to the grid. This has been very popular in Germany, but of course it only applies to electricity - users of solar hot water generators and biomass heating would not benefit.

Whatever is done, the LCBP programme has not done itself any favours and may well have put genuinely concerned citizens off the whole idea of generating their own energy.