Subsidies will be slashed by 89% in January, just as solar was winning wider plaudits
It was right of the government to offer generous subsidies to the first households installing roof-top solar electricity panels. Yes, the beneficiaries were wealthier households with up to £20,000 to spare. But it kick-started explosive growth in the industry which helped to push down the cost of later installations, now on around 655,000 roofs across the UK.
The government was also right to slash the tariffs paid to householders from 41.6p a unit of electricity back in 2010 to just 12.5p today, as the price of installation fell to just £6,000 or £7,000. Even at 12.5p it looks too generous; why should lower income households have to subsidise, through higher electricity bills, the better off?