A new report by photovoltaics company Engensa, due to be released soon, shows encouraging signs in the growth of new jobs resulting from the feed-in tariff system. However, the report warns that a cut to the tariff above 25% could spell disaster for approximately 10,000 jobs in the sustainability industry in Britain. The report also rebuked criticisms about the cost of the feed-in tariff project from some sections of the mainstream press, arguing that on average it only costs in the region of 19 pence a month to provide (or 0.4% of the figure argued by the Daily Mail).

Fears of cuts may be tempered somewhat by the report's claim that providing this particular subsidy for home producers of renewable energy is actually profitable for the Treasury. When taking into account tax and the revenue generated by the jobs the scheme has created, the Engensa report predicts a £65m surplus, promoting the idea that subsidies for renewable energy can be sustainable economically as well as environmentally.

"When you see the Treasury benefiting, you see a transition towards a sustainable economy in an environmental sense" said Engensa Chief Executive Toby Darbyshire, "it's very hard to make the argument this is a bad thing."

 

Source:  Business Green