New head of DECC starts off at a hot pace
Within a week of being appointed Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, following the resignation of Chris Huhne, Edward Davey was launching the Energy Efficiency Deployment Office — and responding to the furore over the Feed-in Tariff. The EEDO comprises a 50-strong dedicated team within DECC to spearhead energy efficiency and make it more relevant to everyone’s lives.
Edward Davey explains, ‘I’m hugely enthusiastic about energy efficiency. It’s the cheapest way of cutting carbon — and cutting bills for consumers. It has to be right at the heart of what we do.’
The experience team has a clear job description — to help deliver existing policies and find new ways of saving energy, right across the economy.
Mr Davey said, ‘We need this expertise now more than ever. Not only do we face a growing gap between energy supply and demand, but by 2050 we’ll need to cut our energy use by between a third and a half. And we’re about to begin the biggest energy-efficiency drive this country has ever seen.
‘Later this year, the Green Deal will go live, and EEDO will help us deliver it — alongside our other energy-saving policies.’
Having lost its appeal about retrospectively altering the rates for the Feed-in Tariff, the Government has set out its position in a written ministerial statement. It stresses Government commitment to promoting decentralised energy and the take-up of small-scale low-carbon technologies by the public and communities.
The FiT is seen as an important instrument in meeting that commitment and one which should benefit as many people as possible, not just the ‘lucky few’. The new tariffs for solar PV have been set to provide a competitive return on investment for householders, communities and others, and are designed to apply to all installations with an eligibility date from 3 March onwards.
Looking further ahead are proposals for a programme for 6-monthly degression for solar PV tariffs to keep subsidy levels in step with the market. These proposals will keep down the long-term costs of supporting solar PV, increasing the number of people able to benefit from FITs over time. The proposals are intended to remove the need for emergency reviews.
