By Kari Williamson

REA Chief Executive Gaynor Hartnell, says: “The Government certainly needed to take steps to stabilise the feed-in tariff and we welcome this consultation. The ultimate aim should be tariffs that deliver a reasonable and stable rate of return and which fall in line with cost reductions in technology. Whether the Government has got those calculations right, is another matter. The solar tariffs fall so steeply that by July this year they could be lower than those for wind and hydro. It is a tall order – and solar companies have been vocal in their disbelief.

“I do think we have seen a change of ambition for solar, however. The Government seems to have accepted that it has an important role to play and DECC seems genuinely keen to work with the industry to ensure that it can deliver on its huge potential.”

“Greg Barker wants the industry to change its mind-set on the meaning of “stability”. He talked about this when I interviewed him for REA news last week.”