A Basingstoke eco-campaigner believes there is a green future for the town despite continuing confusion over Government subsidies for renewable energy schemes.
Martin Heath, from Brookvale, who heads Basingstoke Transition, a movement pushing for the uptake of green technology across borough, said solar power was still a good option for many people.
The statement comes after Hampshire County Council opted to put on hold plans to roll out photovoltaic solar panels on council-owned buildings following a large reduction in Government feed-in-tariffs this month.
Despite council chiefs agreeing to mothball the scheme, a high court ruling on December 21 that the changes to subsidy levels were legally flawed could lead to a judicial review.
On December 12 the Government slashed subsidy payments for every kWh of energy generated from 43.3p to 21p. In reaction, the county council cabinet opted on December 19 to scrap the £3.5m scheme to install 7,500m2 of solar panels of county-owned roof space.
Hampshire council leader Ken Thornber said: “It is disappointing that the secretary of state has made this unwelcome and unexpected decision, which has brought the solar energy industry to a stop overnight.
“The decision to fix on a cut-off date in December, even before the consultation has closed on the proposed changes, has forced us to re-evaluate our plans, and in the current economic climate, we, along with many others must reluctantly shelve our plans.
But Mr Heath urged county council chiefs to revaluate the plans. “Our view is they are being ultra-conservative on the financials of the scheme,” he said.
“It’s an issue of how much does the system cost to install, and then how much income can be generated over the life time of the system. The transition’s view is they are being very pessimistic about it and there are still major opportunities for Hampshire, all the councils and Basingstoke to invest in solar PV.
“I would say the feed in tariffs as they were were to high and they needed to come down. What they were reduced to I don’t think is unreasonable because you can still make a good return on those levels.”
