February 05 2010
THE Government's Feed-in Tariffs or "Clean Energy Cashback" scheme, announced on Monday (February 1), does not go far enough to attract farmers and growers, the NFU has claimed.
The Feed-in Tariffs (FITs), being introduced from April 1, will provide Government-backed support for small-to-medium scale renewable electricity generation.
Modelled on similar schemes across Europe, FITs are being introduced in response to lobbying by a coalition of diverse stakeholders, including the NFU, which sees opportunities for British farmers and growers to export renewable energy services alongside food production.
However, the British scheme has already been criticised as lacking in ambition compared with its continental counterparts as it is expected to account for only 2 per cent of UK electricity production by 2020.
The overall rate of return to developers has also been set at around 5-8 per cent, which the NFU says may interest householders, but will not attract many commercial investors such as farmers and growers.
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