Scotland’s photo voltaic sector and the Scottish Authorities’s net-zero targets are at critical threat if photo voltaic just isn’t reinstated to the House Vitality Scotland (HES) grant and mortgage scheme, based on warnings from commerce teams within the development and renewables sectors.
The Scottish Authorities just lately opted to discontinue funding for photo voltaic photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage below the scheme, with the impact, as Scottish Renewables put it, of “undermining Scotland’s photo voltaic sector and eradicating any incentive for house owners to put money into photo voltaic PV”.
Helen Melone, Head of Warmth and Photo voltaic at Scottish Renewables, stated:
“The HES grant and mortgage scheme has been standard with Scotland’s photo voltaic provide chain serving to to ship the in depth pipeline of initiatives it’s at present working by.
“Home photo voltaic is vastly standard in Scotland and there’s a lengthy ready listing for installations. Nonetheless, with no incentive for home rooftop photo voltaic, this work will inevitably dry up and depart these corporations with unsure futures.
“Greater than 60,000 households have already got photo voltaic panels and we’d like extra put in throughout the nation on properties, companies and public buildings to guard customers from the excessive electrical energy costs the UK at present faces and to sort out local weather change.
“It’s due to this fact important that restricted public spending is invested the place it will probably make the largest affect on chopping carbon emissions.
“We urge the Scottish Authorities to rethink its determination to take away home photo voltaic from its grant and mortgage scheme and as an alternative improve funding to make sure all forms of vitality effectivity, clear warmth, photo voltaic and vitality storage methods can be found to all households.”
Additionally commenting on the transfer, Alan Wilson, Chair of the Development Business Collective Voice (CICV), a coalition of 29 skilled and commerce our bodies throughout the UK development sector, stated: “Photo voltaic PV and battery storage should not nearly clear vitality; they characterize a dedication to long-term financial stability and environmental stewardship. Their exclusion from funding alerts a worrying shift in coverage that may undoubtedly discourage funding and innovation in Scotland’s renewable sector.
“A steady coverage setting is important for companies to commit assets to creating, putting in and sustaining low-carbon applied sciences. The present coverage fluctuation dangers stalling Scotland’s progress in the direction of its environmental objectives and shaking the arrogance of market buyers and the general public alike.
“It’s going to additionally considerably have an effect on the coaching and abilities growth companies throughout the renewable sector undertake. After quite a few false begins with renewable expertise funding, installers are more and more cautious of committing to coaching when help is so ceaselessly withdrawn. Companies want readability and certainty to speculate successfully, and this unpredictability severely hampers their capacity to take action.
“This determination additionally instantly and profoundly impacts Scottish households, particularly these in additional susceptible financial positions. With out monetary help, the preliminary price of transitioning to renewable vitality sources turns into prohibitive for a lot of. This not solely slows down particular person progress in the direction of vitality independence but additionally widens the socioeconomic divide in entry to wash expertise. Making certain all communities can take part and profit from Scotland’s vitality transition is essential for its total success and social fairness.
“Shifting ahead, we should guarantee continuity and consistency in our strategy to understand our low-carbon ambitions absolutely. The abrupt finish to funding these crucial applied sciences may undermine the belief customers and {the marketplace} has in all of the nation’s low-carbon transition methods. As all the time, we advocate dialogue to discover a manner ahead moderately than undermining Scotland’s sustainable future.”
The Scottish Authorities has an ambition to extend photo voltaic deployment from 0.5GW of capability to between 4GW-6GW by 2030. To assist obtain these targets, Scottish Renewableshas urged the Scottish Authorities to:
- Enhance funding out there within the HES grant and mortgage scheme by £20 million – reinstating photo voltaic PV and vitality storage methods.
- Proceed to develop the scale and scale of curiosity free mortgage and grant programmes for vitality effectivity measures, together with photo voltaic vitality, and warmth pump installations, notably for smaller properties, rural and island fuel-poor households.
