Investment funds shelve solar plans

Spotted over at Business Green was this article about more investment funds shelving solar plans following the recently announced emergency feed-in tariff review, which it's believed, is aimed principally at larger solar farm type plans as opposed to homeowners own personal solar panel installations.

Whilst the article goes on to list those companies and the reasons why they're pushing the pause button on gathering investment, what I found most interesting was the figures relating to current feed-in tariff usage.

Apparently, of the £30 to £51 million budgeted for by the Government in the feed-in tariff's first year, during the first 9 months of operation, just £6.3 million has been paid to households and businesses that have installed qualifying renewables technology.

photo credit: annie roi

Farmers inundated with Solar system investors

The Telegraph ran a very interesting editorial last week on British Farmers and the expansion of turning over farmland to solar panels.

Already in Cornwall, over 40 farms have enquired after planning permission for photovoltaic solar projects.

The column does an excellent job of putting over both the views of the Farmers and investors but also carries reservations about the long term potential of what Farmers are seeing as a valuable source of income.

The article cites the recent cancellation of 50 anaerobic digestion plant schemes after farmers realised that the feed-in tariff for such schemes were too low to make the projects viable.

According to the article, experts are also warning that returns on solar projects are being overestimated by investors in trying to persuade farmers to sign up for generation schemes.

You can read the Telegraph's full report by clicking here.

photo credit: vimages