A SOLAR power scheme that would have generated a healthy income for Luton Borough Council has been cut short after the government announced plans to halve subsidies.
The council had intended to install up to 4,000 solar panels on homes in Luton, meaning tenants would benefit from reduced bills while the the council received income from energy companies for generating electricity.
But the ‘solar gold rush’, which has seen local authorities and private homeowners rush to take advantage of the government’s Feed-In Tariff scheme (FITs), has been hit by the decision to slash the subsidy.
The government is about to challenge a High Court ruling that it was illegal for it to cut the subsidy before a consultation on the changes had ended.
The council’s ‘Shine On’ project was commenced in November in partnership with solar energy companies Enfinity and AVC energy, but was brought to a halt after work had been completed on just 126 properties.
A spokesman for Luton Borough Council said: “The original intention of the project was to install about 4,000 solar panel systems on suitable council homes which was to be funded by this ‘feed-in tariff’, which is a payment made for every unit of electricity generated by renewable technology.
“The decision to halve it made this financially unviable after December 12 so we went ahead and did as many as we could in the time we had before it came into effect.
“We are of course disappointed about the loss of potential income from 4,000 installs and of course equally disappointed that less tenants are now able to benefit from free daytime electricity.
“However, we are still actively seeking other possible funding sources to roll out this scheme across our full housing stock at some point in the future.”