The UK government has set solar and biomass subsidy levels for the next five years, and says building-mounted solar PV projects will receive higher rates than ground-mounted projects over the 2013-2017 period.
For the building-mounted solar PV, the government has set the level of support at 1.7 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2013/14, reducing to 1.6 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2014/15 and then to 1.5 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2015/16 and 1.4 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2016/17.
For the ground-mounted solar, the government has set the level of support at 1.6 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2013/14, reducing to 1.4 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2014/15, 1.3 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2015/16 and 1.2 ROCs/MWh for new accreditations and additional capacity added in 2016/17.
According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, this will encourage the installation of solar projects at large factory or warehouse buildings and help the government meet its goal to produce 15 percent of its energy demand from renewable sources by 2020.
The five-year plan also encourages biomass projects, and the DECC expects it to unlock investment decisions worth £600m, creating around 1,000 construction jobs.
