Nine in 10 homes will have to spend more to qualify for solar subsidies

This a particularly interesting move, as it mirrors the policy of the CEC in California.  They are currently requiring a 10% reduction in energy efficiency prior to solar for the Sonoma SCEIP Pace Program funded by them through ARRA dollars.  My understanding is that it has had a significant impact on the use of that program, as solar installers move away from PACE towards solar leasing and other less restrictive private investment products.

As someone who longs believes in the loading order (EE before RE) it might seem strange that I have a problem with this sort of mandate.  My issue is an attempt by bureaucrats to use regulation to force consumers to change behavior, rather than addressing the core reasons why people are not incentivized correctly to make these sorts of investments.

The reality is that for most consumers, Solar actually does make more sense.  It is more reliable in terms of getting the outcomes that are promised in terms of delivered energy (vs. a much higher degree of variance for EE, especially in CA with its HERSII asset rating system that has a noted tendency to over-predict savings by a large degree).  Mind you Solar also benefits from serious incentives in the form of a 30% off tax credit.  But we should not penalize homeowners for our potentially unbalanced policies... we should rather focus on setting up a market that makes investing in the "correct" order a smart decision for homeowners to make.  This approach detracts from solar, by forcing people to make an investment that in many cases is simply not in their financial interest.   

I believe that at some point regulation will most likely be required to get to our goals.  But if we have to regulate our early adopters to "do the right thing" we are in TROUBLE!  

I would suggest we need to use carrots not sticks, and focus on changing the paradigm so that Energy Efficiency has the same sort of value proposition to consumers as Solar... take no risk and put up no money... and you can save.  Then, when we achieve that and have hundreds of thousands of happy early adopters, then maybe we can start telling people that EE is such a good idea they have to do it.

Nine in 10 homes will have to spend more to qualify for solar subsidies
Energy rating hurdle means 86% of householders would have to spend £5,600 to qualify for feed-in tariff

guardian.co.uk
Wednesday 2 November 2011 10.39 EDTHanna Gersmann


Some 86% of the UK’s homes do not meet the ‘C’ energy rating standard that properties will need to qualify for the feed-in tariff, research shows. Photograph: PANearly nine in 10 households would have to spend more than £5,000 to make their homes more energy efficient before they could be eligible for solar panel subsidies under new rules announced this week.

Under changes announced on Monday, the solar feed-in tariff (Fit) will be tied to the government's "green deal" loan scheme, that aims to make homes more energy efficient.

But 86% of the UK's homes do not meet the 'C' energy rating standard that properties will need to qualify for the feed-in tariff, according to research by the office of shadow energy minister, Caroline Flint.

Bringing those homes up to standard through insulation and heating improvements would "in most cases" cost up to £5,600, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc). The Renewable Energy Association believes the true cost would be higher, at around £7,000.

Flint said: "These figures prove that the government is going to kill offsolar power as a popular energy saving measure available to the many and make it the preserve of a wealthy few. First they halved the tariff, then they add this energy rating hurdle putting the Fit beyond the reach of 86% of homes."

Homeowners should theoretically recoup the £5,600 – paid in repayments as part of the green deal – through energy bill savings, and will not need to foot the upfront cost. Anyone installing solar panels after 1 April 2012 will need to green their home to the 'C' standard, with those installing before 31 March 2013 getting 12 months' grace to install the measures. The green deal is due to come into effect in November 2012.

The news came as reports arrived of several solar projects already having been cancelled due to the feed-in tariff cuts, announced by Greg Barker on Monday.

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