SIR ROBERT SMITH: GOVERNMENT MUST REWARD EARLY ENERGY INNOVATORS

6.00.00pm GMT Mon 1st Mar 2010

Local MP Sir Robert Smith is urging the government to change its Clean Energy Cash-Back scheme to ensure that early energy innovators around the country benefit from the scheme, including those in the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency.

Sir Robert recently met with constituents who have installed wind turbines in order to provide the energy their homes need in a more efficient and cost effective way. Some are also able to sell the excess energy they produce back to energy companies.

The government legislation guarantees a fixed, premium rate for renewable electricity fed back into the national grid and power companies are obliged by the legislation to buy the renewable electricity. However, the cash-back scheme pays a much lower rate to early-adopters who installed technology before 15 July 2009 than those who installed the technology after that cut-off date.

Commenting, Sir Robert said:

'The ideas behind the scheme make good sense, both in terms of the environmental benefits and increased security of supply.'

Sir Robert continued:

'However, paying early adopters at a lower rate than those who adopted the technology later on sends the wrong message to people and businesses looking to take up this and other energy-savings schemes.'

Sir Robert has signed a parliamentary motion tabled by his Liberal Democrat colleague Alistair Carmichael MP, calling on the government to equalise the rewards given to early and later adopters of the technology.

The full text of the EDM is:

EDM 953

FEED-IN-TARRIFS, MICRO-GENERATORS AND CLEAN ENERGY CASH-BACK SCHEMES

26.02.2010

Carmichael, Alistair

That this House notes the pioneering contribution that those households and businesses which have installed micro-generation capacity have made in driving forward the UK's development of its own feed-in-tariff policy; further notes that under the Government's Clean Energy Cash-Back scheme new feed-in-tariff payment rates of up to 41.3 pence per kilowatt hour will only apply to new generators which installed their technology after 15 July 2009 and that those businesses and homes which installed their technology before 15 July 2009 will only receive nine pence per kilowatt hour; calls on the Government to recognise the innovation and dynamism of those people who, in breaking new ground in this area, have helped it deliver the Clean Energy Cash-Back scheme; and further calls on the Government to reward those people at the same level as those installing micro-generation capacity for the first time after 1 April 2010.