Press release

New Energy Secretary backs clean power

6 February 2012

Reacting to new Energy Secretary Ed Davey's support for clean energy today, announced at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) testing facility for green homes near Watford, on his first ministerial visit since replacing Chris Huhne, Friends of the Earth's Executive Director Andy Atkins said:

"Ed Davey's enthusiasm for renewable energy is encouraging - he now has a crucial opportunity to build a safe and affordable future for us all.

"Investing in clean British energy and cutting energy waste is the best way to tackle the threat cash-strapped homes and businesses face from the nation's dangerous dependency on expensive fossil fuels.

"One of his first challenges must be to sort out the mess the Government has made of its solar cuts - amending these disastrous proposals and safeguarding up to 29,000 jobs currently under threat must be a top priority."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.            The Government is due to publish the results of its public consultation into proposals to reform solar subsidy payments on Thursday 9 February 2012. Friends of the Earth is calling on Ed Davey to save the thousands of jobs currently under threat by:

• Increasing the overall budget for feed-in tariffs using tax revenues generated by jobs created by the scheme to ensure there is enough cash available to at least maintain the industry at its current size - and enable more households to benefit from clean energy.
• Excluding housing association, school, council and other community projects from the damaging proposal to give multi-building solar projects even lower financial support.
• Only requiring homes wishing to install solar panels to install loft and cavity wall insulation where possible - rather than imposing much tougher energy efficiency conditions which would make 9 out of 10 householders ineligible for the scheme;
• Abandoning plans to appeal to the Supreme Court against a court ruling that Government solar subsidy plans are illegal. Earlier this month the Court of Appeal confirmed that Government proposals to cut solar tariff payments for any scheme completed after 12 December 2011, 11 days before the official consultation, was unlawful, following a legal challenge by Friends of the Earth and two solar firms, Solarcentury and HomeSun.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust